Maternal Responses to Children's Success and Failure and Children's Achievement -Related Processes

The variety of ways in which mothers respond to their children's successes and failures was investigated. The present research expanded upon previous work in the area in four ways. First, the research examined the types of reactions to success that mothers actually use in achievement-related situations. Second, the research examined the association between mothers' reactions to success and a number of achievement-related processes, including children's beliefs about ability, orientation toward performance, responses to failure and maternal negative evaluation, and internalizing symptoms. Third, the research investigated the ways that mothers react to children's failure in achievement-related contexts and the association between such reactions and achievement-related processes. Finally, the potential moderating effects of children's age and the affective context in which maternal reactions to success and failure took place were examined. Children ages seven to ten (N = 110) and their mothers participated in the research. Results indicated that mothers use a wide variety of responses to their children's positive and negative behavior in achievement-related situations. In general, when mothers demonstrated a great deal of interest in their children's performance, their responses appeared to serve a controlling function, indicating to children the importance of successful performance. When mothers granted children autonomy and credit for their successes, however, indications of associations with maladaptive achievement-related processes were less apparent. In addition, there was some evidence for the moderating roles of development and affective context. These results have implications for theories attempting to differentiate the various messages inherent in maternal feedback.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Saxon, Jill Laurie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Pomerantz, Eva M.

• Sociology, Individual and Family Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3017200

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82003