The notion that caregiver sensitive and contingent behavior is closely related to
children's perceived control has been proposed both by theorists interested in the
effects of parent-child interactions and by those focusing on the origins of control
beliefs. The present study investigated this relationship by analyzing the
interactions between mothers and their 3-1/2-to 4-1/2-year-old children (N
= 120) during a problem-solving task. First, using separately derived indices of
contingency, sensitive responsiveness, and sensitive initiation, a correlational
analysis revealed that children's perceived control (assessed using an open-ended
measure) was most closely related to mother sensitive initiation; all three mother
behaviors were interrelated and correlated with child active engagement in the
problem-solving task. Second, a conditional probability analysis showed that the
relation between mother sensitive initiation and child engagement was reciprocal in
that mother sensitive initiation increased the probability of child active
engagement and child passivity increased the probability of mother low sensitive
initiation. The advantages of a differentiated conception of caregiver behavior and
of perceived control are discussed.
Ainsworth, M.D.S.
and
S.M. Bell
, 1974. 'Mother-infant interaction and the development of
competence'. In:
K.S. Connolly
and
J.S. Bruner
(eds.), The growth of competence.
New York: Academic Press
.
3.
Ainsworth, M.D.S.
,
M.D. Blehar
,
E. Waters
and
S. Wall
, 1978. Patterns of attachment.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
.
4.
Alloy, L.B.
and
L.Y. Abramson
, 1979.
Judgment of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students: Sadder but wiser?Journal of Experimental Psychology: General108,
441-485
.
5.
Arend, R.
,
F.L. Gove
and
L.A. Sroufe
, 1979.
Continuity of individual adaptation from infancy to kindergarten: a
predictive study of ego resiliency and curiosity in preschoolers
. Child Development50,
950-959
.
6.
Bakeman, R.
, 1979. Analyzing event sequence data: computer programs
ESEQ and ELAG. Technical report II.
Social Development Laboratory, Georgia State University
.
7.
Bakeman, R.
and
J.V. Brown
, 1980.
Early interaction: consequences for social and mental development at three years
. Child Development51,
437-447
.
8.
Bakeman, R.
and
J.M. Dabbs, Jr.
, 1976.
Social interaction observed: some approaches to the analysis of behavior streams
. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin2,
235-245
.
9.
Bandura, A.
, 1977.
Self-efficacy: toward a unified theory of behavioral change
. Psychological Review84,
191-215
.
10.
Bates, J.E.
,
S.L. Olson
,
G.S. Pettit
and
K. Bayles
, 1982.
Dimensions of individuality in the mother-infant relationship at six months
of age
. Child Development53,
446-461
.
11.
Baumrind, D.
, 1977.
Socialization determinants of personal agency
. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for
Resesarch in Child Development, New Orleans.
12.
Beckwith, L.
and
S. Cohen
, 1983.
Continuity of caregiving with preterm infants
. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for
Research in Child Development, Detroit, April.
13.
Belsky, J.
,
M. Rovine
and
D.G. Taylor
, 1984.
The Pennsylvania Infant and Family Development Project, III: the origins of
individual differences in infant-mother attachment: Maternal and infant contributions
. Child Development55,
718-728
.
14.
Borduin, C.M.
and
S.W. Henggeler
, 1981.
Social class, experimental setting, and task characteristics as
determinants of mother-child interaction
. Developmental Psychology17,
209-214
.
15.
Bradley, R.
,
B. Cadwell
and
R. Elardo
, 1979.
Home environment and cognitive development in the first two years: a
cross-lag panel analysis
. Developmental Psychology15,
246-250
.
16.
Bronson, W.C.
, 1974.
Mother-toddler interaction: a perspective on studying the development of competence
. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly30,
275-301
.
17.
Clarke-Stewart, K.A.
, 1973.
Interactions between mothers and their young children: characteristics and consequences
. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development38 (6-7, Serial No. 153).
18.
Clarke-Stewart, K.A.
and
C.M. Hevey
, 1981.
Longitudinal relations in repeated observations of mother-child interaction
from 1 to 2 1/2 years
. Developmental Psychology17,
127-145
.
19.
Cohen, S.E.
and
L. Beckwith
, 1979.
Preterm infant interaction with caregiver in the first year of life and
competence at age two
. Child Development50,
767-776
.
20.
Crandall, V.C.
and
B.W. Crandall
, 1983. 'Maternal and childhood behaviors as antecedents of
internal-external control perceptions in young adulthood'. In:
H.M. Lefcourt
(ed.), Research with the locus of control construct, Vol. 2:
Developments and social problems. New York:
Academic Press
. pp. 53-103.
21.
Crandall, V.J.
, 1973.
Differences in parental antecedents of internal-external control in
children and in young adulthood
. Paper presented at the Meetings of the American Psychological Association.
22.
Croft, R.
,
S. Stern
,
H. Siegelbaum
and
D. Goodman
, 1976. Manual for description and functional analysis of
continuous didactic interactions.
Rochester, NY: University of Rochester
.
23.
Donovan, W.L.
and
L.A. Leavitt
, 1978.
Early cognitive development and its relation to maternal physiologic and
behavioral responsiveness
. Child Development49,
1251-1254
.
24.
Easterbrooks, M.A.
and
W.A. Goldberg
, 1984.
Toddler development in the family: impact of father involvement and
parenting characteristics
. Child Development55,
740-752
.
25.
Elardo, R.
,
R. Bradley
and
B. Caldwell
, 1975.
The relation of infants' home environment to mental test performance from
six to thirty-six months: a longitudinal analysis
. Child Development46,
71-76
.
26.
Elardo, R.
,
R. Bradley
and
B. Caldwell
, 1977.
A longitudinal study of the relation of infants' home environments to
language development at age three
. Child Development48,
595-603
.
27.
Fincham, F.D.
and
K.M. Cain
, 1986. Learned helplessness in humans: a developmental
analysis. Developmental Review (in press).
28.
Findley, M.J.
and
H.M. Cooper
, 1983.
Locus of control and academic achievement: a literature review
. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology44(2),
419-427
.
29.
Gunnar, M.R.
, 1980. 'Contingent stimulation: a review of its role in
early development'. In:
S. Levine
and
H. Ursin
(eds.), Coping and health.
New York: Plenum
. pp. 101-119.
30.
Heckhausen, H.
, 1977.
Achievement motivation and its constructs: a cognitive model
. Motivation and Emotion1,
283-329
.
31.
Jennings, K.D.
,
R.J. Harmon
,
G.A. Morgan
,
J.L. Gaiter
and
L.J. Yarrow
, 1979.
Exploratory play as an index of mastery motivation: relationships to
persistence, cognitive functioning, and environmental measures
. Developmental Psychology15,
386-394
.
32.
Lamb, M.E.
and
M.A. Easterbrooks
, 1980. 'Individual differences in parental sensitivity:
some thoughts about origins, components, and consequences'. In:
M.E. Lamb
and
L.R. Sherrod
(eds.), Infant social cognition: empirical and theoretical
considerations.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
.
33.
Lefcourt, H.M.
, 1976. Locus of control: current trends in theory and
research.
New York: Wiley
.
34.
Lewis, M.
and
S. Goldberg
, 1969.
Perceptual cognitive development in infancy: a generalized expectancy model
as a function of mother-infant interactions
. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly19,
81-100
.
35.
Martin, J.A.
, 1979.
Consequences of mothers' responsiveness to boys and girls
. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child
Development, San Francisco, March.
36.
Martin, J.A.
, 1981.
A longitudinal study of the consequences of early mother-infant
interaction: a microanalytic approach
. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development46 (3, Serial No. 190).
37.
Matas, L.
,
R.A. Arend
and
L.A. Sroufe
, 1978.
Continuity of adaptation in the second year: the relationship between
quality attachment and later competence
. Child Development49,
547-556
.
38.
Mischel, W.
,
R. Zeiss
and
A. Zeiss
, 1974.
Internal-external control and persistence: validation and implication of
the Stanford preschool internal-external scale
. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology29,
265-270
.
39.
Olson, S.L.
,
J.E. Bates
and
K. Bayles
, 1984.
Mother-infant interaction and the development of individual differences in
children's cognitive competence
. Developmental Psychology20(1),
166-179
.
40.
Papousek, H.
, 1967. 'Experimental studies of appetitional behavior in
human newborns and infants'. In:
H.W. Stevenson
,
E.H. Hess
and
H.C. Rheingold
(eds.), Early behavior: comparative and developmental approaches.
New York: Wiley
. pp. 249-277.
41.
Papousek, H.
and
M. Papousek
, 1979. 'The infant's fundamental adaptive response system
in social interaction'. In:
E.B. Thoman
(ed.), Origins of the infant's social responsiveness.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
.
42.
Ramey, C.T.
,
R.H. Starr
,
J. Pallas
,
C.F. Whitten
and
V. Reed
, 1975.
Nutrition, response contingent stimulation and the mineral deprivation
syndrome: results of an early intervention program
. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly21,
45-53
.
43.
Riksen-Walraven, J.M.
, 1978.
Effects of caregiver behavior on habituation rate and self-efficacy in infants
. International Journal of Behavioural Development1,
105-130
.
44.
Schaefer, E.S.
and
W.M. Hunter
, 1983.
Mother-infant interaction and maternal psychosocial predictors of
kindergarten adaptation
. Paper presented at the Biennial Meetings of the Society for
Research in Child Development, Detroit, April.
45.
Seligman, M.E.P.
, 1975. Helplessness: on depression, development, and
death.
San Francisco, CA: Freeman
.
46.
Sigel, I.E.
,
A.V. McGillicuddy-DeLisi
and
J.E. Johnson
, 1980. Effects of spacing and birth order on problem-solving
competence in pre-schoolers.
Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service
.
47.
Sigel, I.E.
,
J. Flaugher
,
J.E. Johnson
and
A. Schauer
, 1980. Parent-child interaction observation schedule.
Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service
.
48.
Skinner, E.A.
, 1985a.
Action, control judgments, and the structure of control experience
. Psychological Review92,
39-58
.
49.
Skinner, E.A.
, 1985b. 'Determinants of mother sensitive and
contingent-responsive behavior: the role of child-rearing beliefs and
socioeconomic status'. In:
I. Siegel
(ed.), The role of parental belief systems as influences on parent-child
interactions.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
. pp. 51-82.
50.
Skinner, E.A.
and
J.P. Connell
, 1986. 'Control understanding: suggestions for a
developmental framework'. In:
M. Baltes
and
P.B. Baltes
(eds.), The psychology of aging and control.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
. pp. 35-69.
51.
Skinner, E.A.
,
M. Chapman
and
P.B. Baltes
, n.d. Control, means-ends, and agency beliefs: a new
conceptualization and its measurement during childhood. Manuscript
submitted for publication.
52.
Smith, P.B.
and
D.R. Pederson
, 1983.
Maternal sensitivity and patterns of infant-mother attachment
. Paper presented at the Biennial Meetings of the Society for
Research in Child Development, Detroit, April.
53.
Spivak, G.
and
M.B. Shure
, 1974. The PIPS test manual: a cognitive measure of
interpersonal problem-solving ability.
Philadelphia, PA: Community Mental
Health/Mental Retardation Center
.
54.
Sroufe, L.A.
, 1979.
The coherence of individual development: early care attachment and
subsequent developmental issues
. American Psychologist34,
834-841
.
55.
Stephens, M.W.
and
P. Delys
, 1973.
External control expectancies among disadvantaged children at pre-school age
. Child Development44,
670-674
.
56.
Suomi, S.J.
, 1980. 'Contingency, perception, and social
development'. In:
L.R. Sherrod
and
M.E. Lamb
(eds.), Infant social cognition: empirical and theoretical
considerations.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
.
57.
Waters, E.
,
J. Wippman
and
L.A. Sroufe
, 1979.
Attachment, positive affect, and competence in the peer group
. Child Development50,
821-829
.
58.
Watson, J.S.
, 1979. 'Perception of contingency as a determinant of
social responsiveness'. In:
E.B. Thoman
(ed.), Origins of the infant's social responsiveness.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
.
59.
Weisz, J.R.
and
D.J. Stipek
, 1982.
Competence, contingency, and the development of perceived control
. Human Development25,
250-281
.
60.
Yarrow, L.J.
,
J.L. Rubinstein
,
F.A. Pederson
and
J.J. Jankowski
, 1972.
Dimensions of early stimulation and their differential effects on infant development
. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly18,
