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Maternal control style and the mastery motivation of one‐year‐olds
Author(s) -
Grolnick Wendy,
Frodi Ann,
Bridges Lisa
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(198422)5:2<72::aid-imhj2280050203>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , temperament , competence (human resources) , affect (linguistics) , autonomy , style (visual arts) , parenting styles , intrinsic motivation , social psychology , personality , communication , archaeology , political science , law , history
Forty‐one mothers and their 12‐month‐old infants participated in a study of the effects of maternal control style on infant mastery motivation. Three scales were designed to assess maternal control style during a mother‐infant play session. Mastery motivation was assessed in an experimenter‐administered structured toy play procedure. Three components, persistence, competence, and affect, comprised the measure of mastery motivation. Mothers also completed questionnaires on child‐rearing attitudes, infant temperament, and control style. Results showed that maternal attitudes and behavior were correlated with infant mastery motivation. More specifically: autonomy‐oriented control behavior, sensitive care and knowledge of child‐rearing were positively related to infant mastery motivation. The results provide converging evidence regarding the multiple aspects of maternal behavior which affect infant motivation.