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Parents' Attributions for Their Children's Behavior
Author(s) -
Miller Scott A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1995.tb00952.x
Subject(s) - attribution , psychology , affect (linguistics) , developmental psychology , cognition , social cognition , social psychology , child development , communication , neuroscience
Parents' attributions for children's behavior are of interest both as a form of adult social cognition and as possible contributors to children's development. This article reviews work on the determinants and the effects of parents' attributions. Included in the discussion of possible determinants are characteristics of the target (e.g., age and sex), characteristics of the judge (e.g., mothers vs. fathers), and characteristics of the behavior to be explained (e.g., positive or negative). Included in the discussion of possible effects are effects on parents' affect and behavior and on children's development. The evidence suggests that parents do form attributions for their children's behavior and that these attributions vary in predictable (although not perfectly consistent) ways across judges, targets, and outcomes. The evidence also suggests, although less certainly, that attributions affect both parents' behavior and children's development. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.