In addition to reading chapter 5 in your Erickson book, you should also read pp. 56-59 in chapter 4!
I. Obstacles to understanding parent-child research:
A. Critical components to defining "family"
1. Providing care and
protection of the child
2. Regulating and controlling
the child's behavior in line with the needs and requirements from external
and internal resources
3. Providing knowledge
and skills, and understanding the physical and social world
4. Giving affective meaning
to interactions and relationships
5. Facilitating the child's
self-understanding
B. Importance of being explicit in defining "child" and "adolescent"
C. Disentangling the effects of genes and environment.
1. Adoption studies-
2. Twin studies-
II. Approaches used to understand parent-child interactions
A. Learning-based approaches- Child behavior is a product of learned responses to the environment and that process of learning may be observed.
1. Classical Conditioning- pairing strong positive or negative events with parent-child interaction.
2. Operant Conditioning- shaping the child's behavior by rewarding or punishing the child.
3. Modeling- (Bandura)- behavior is learned by watching others, then performing that behavior.
B. Developmental Approach
C. Baumrind's Parenting Styles-
Parenting Style- the
overall values, interaction style, and discipline practices that characterize
the way in which parents socialize their children.
1. Authoritarian- high
on control and maturity demands, low on communication and nurturance.
2. Authoritative- high on control & maturity demands, high on communication and nurturance.
3. Permissive- low on control & maturity demands, some are high on communication and nurturance (those opposed to discipline). Others are low on communication and nurturance (neglectful subtype).
III. Other factors influencing child development
A. Divorce
B. Parental Depression
C. Parental Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
D. Extrafamilial Stressors