Whether it be psychosexual, psychosocial, cognitive, or moral, development is greatly influenced what parents say and do. The general approach taken toward child rearing by a parent is called parental style.Research conducted by devel- opmental psychologists such as Stanley Coopersmith and Diane Baumrind, both affiliated with the University of California, suggests that there are two primary dimensions of parental style. These are: (1) authoritarian-permissive and (2) accepting-rejecting.
The authoritarian-permissive dimensionconsists of bipolar opposites. At the one extreme, parents who manifest an authoritarian style are highly con- trolling, demanding, possessive, and overprotective. At the other extreme, parents who manifest a permissive styleare easygoing, overly agreeable, detached, and easily manipulated by the child or adolescent. Such parents tend to avoid setting well-defined limits on behavior.
(a) There are how many primary dimensions of parental style?
(b) Parents who manifest an style are highly controlling, demanding, posses- sive, and overprotective.
(c) Parents who manifest a style are easygoing, overly agreeable, detached, and easily manipulated.
Answers: (a) Two; (b) authoritarian; (c) permissive.
The accepting-rejecting dimension also consists of bipolar opposites. At the one extreme, parents who manifest an accepting styleprovide the child with unconditional love, meaning that love is not withdrawn when a child’s behav- ior is unacceptable. The child is loved for being himself or herself, and affection does not stop just because the parent is sometimes disappointed in something the child has done. There is much confusion about this particular point. Uncondi- tional love does not mean unconditional acceptance of all behavior. It is possible to reject unacceptable behavior without rejecting the whole person.
Parents who manifest a rejecting style provide the child with either condi- tional love or no love at all. Conditional love is characterized by providing the tokens of love (e.g., kisses, hugs, and praise) only when they have been earned by certain behaviors such as getting good grades, doing chores, and being polite. A parent who provides no love seldom, if ever, brings forth demonstrations of love in either words or actions. The child acquires the impression that the parent wishes he or she had never been born.
(a) Love that is not withdrawn when a child’s behavior is unacceptable is called love.
(b) Parents who manifest a rejecting style provide the child with either love or no love at all.
Answers: (a) unconditional; (b) conditional.
The two dimensions generate five distinct categories of parental style:
(1) authoritarian-accepting, (2) permissive-accepting, (3) authoritarian-rejecting,
Accepting
Rejecting
Authoritarian Permissive
Accepting-rejecting dimension
Authoritarian- permissive dimension
The two dimensions of parental style.
(4) permissive-rejecting, and (5) democratic-accepting. The first four styles are all flawed, and each of them is likely to generate difficulties in the child’s adjustment to life. The fifth style is the optimal style. The word democraticis used to indi- cate an optimal midpoint on the authoritarian-permissive dimension. Parents who manifest a democratic style give a child real options. The child is allowed to make choices and important decisions. However, the democratic parent also sets realistic limits. If the child’s choices are unacceptable and likely to create eventual problems for the child, then the democratic parent draws a line and is capable of being firm.
Research suggests that a parent who manifests a democratic-accepting style tends to induce optimal social behaviors in the child. This style tends to nurture the intelligence, creativity, emotional adjustment, and self-esteem of the child.
(a) The two dimensions of parental style generate how many distinct categories of parental style?
(b) The democratic-accepting style is the parental style.
Answers: (a) Five; (b) optimal.
SELF-TEST
1. The basic unit of heredity is the a. chromosome
b. gene
c. trisomy 21 pattern
d. ribonucleic acid (RNA) anomaly
2. From seven weeks to birth, the new being is called a. a fetus
b. an embryo c. a zygote d. a neonate
3. According to Freud’s usage, psychosexual energy is referred to as a. libido
b. erotic ambivalence c. metabolism d. genital potency
4. The Oedipus complex is associated with what psychosexual stage?
a. The oral stage b. The anal stage
c. The genital stage d. The latency stage
5. A toddler with a particular positive psychosocial trait will be interested in exploring the immediate world and display an interest in novel stimulation.
What is this trait?
a. Autonomy b. Identity
c. Intimacy d. Generativity
6. An older person with a particular positive psychosocial trait can face approach- ing death with a certain amount of acceptance. What is this trait?
a. Generativity b. Isolation
c. Identity d. Integrity
7. What method did Piaget use to study the child’s mind?
a. The experimental method b. The survey method
c. The phenomenological method d. The correlational method
8. Magical thinking, anthropomorphic thinking, and egocentrism are associated with what stage of cognitive development?
a. Trust versus mistrust b. The sensorimotor stage
c. The formal operations stage d. The preoperational stage
9. What level of moral development is associated with a law and order orienta- tion?
a. The premoral level b. The preconventional level
c. The conventional level d. The principled level
10. Research suggests that a parent who manifests what style tends to induce opti- mal social behaviors in the child?
a. Authoritarian-accepting b. Democratic-accepting
c. Permissive-accepting d. Authoritarian-rejecting
ANSWERS TO THE SELF-TEST
1-b 2-a 3-a 4-d 5-a 6-d 7-c 8-d 9-c 10-b
ANSWERS TO THE TRUE-OR-FALSE PREVIEW QUIZ
1. True.
2. True.
3. False. In psychosocial development, the stage of identity versus role confusion is associ- ated with adolescence.
4. False. Cognitive development focuses primarily on the way the child thinks.
5. False. An authoritarian parent tends to be highly controlling, demanding, possessive, and overprotective.
KEY TERMS
accepting style
accepting-rejecting dimension adolescent psychology
amoral anal stage
anthropomorphic thinking authoritarian style
authoritarian-permissive dimension autonomy versus shame and doubt child psychology
chromosomal anomaly chromosome
cognitive development concrete operations stage conditional love
conventional level democratic
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) developmental psychology Down’s syndrome
ectoderm egocentrism Electra complex embryo
endoderm epistemology erogenous zones fetus
fixation of libido formal operations stage gene
generativity versus self-absorption genital stage
I-it relationship I-thou relationship
identity versus role confusion industry versus inferiority infant
infantile depression initiative versus guilt
integrity versus despair intimacy versus isolation latency stage
libido
magical thinking meiosis
mesoderm metathought mitosis
moral development neonate
Oedipus complex oral stage
ovum
parental style permissive style
phallic stage
phenomenological method power orientation
premoral level preoperational stage principled level
psychosexual development psychosocial development rejecting style
sensorimotor stage social world
sperm (or spermatozoon) trisomy 21
trust versus mistrust unconditional love zygote
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