Overleaf you will find an example of a psychological report – in this case, of an interview-based study into parents’ attitudes to child development, written for the Open University course ED209 Child Development.
The exemplar report is approximately 2000 words long= , and you should follow the general layout of this report. You have a word limit = of 2,500 words for your report, and you should make sure that you include a reference list (including class handouts and websites, where appropriate) a= nd appendices, e.g. your word lists. Note that your references and appendic= es do not count towards the word limit.
The study in this exemplar was not an experiment and= no statistical test was used – you should include the results of your Mann-Whitney tests (one for recall, one for recognition) in the results sec= tion of your report, and state whether or not these were significant.
Parental expectations of child development: an explorato=
ry
study
Abstract
This exploratory study examined cultural influences on
parental attitudes to child development, and differences in expectation bet=
ween
an 'experienced' and an 'inexperienced' mother. Interviews were conducted w=
ith
two mothers, one the mother of two children aged 10 and 11, and the other a
first time mother of an 8-month-old infant. Both participants were asked to
complete an exercise using written statements, a method developed by Hess e=
t al
(1980), and results were compared with earlier cross-cultural studies. Both
participants expected politeness and emotional maturity to develop at a lat=
er
stage than mothers in earlier studies, although in follow-up questions, both
emphasised the importance of social skills and independence. While both
participants attributed their beliefs to cultural influences and particular=
ly
their adult experiences in education and employment, the differences were n=
ot
as great as might have been expected given the cultural and generational
differences.
Introduction
Notions of ‘what it is’ to be a child and the
expectations of adult societies in relation to the role and development of
children have varied greatly over time and across cultures. In our own soci=
ety,
it was not so very long ago that children were viewed as simply a source of
cheap, expendable labour (Das Gupta, 1994). Recent years have seen a far
greater concern with children’s development, reflected in debates over
the extent to which a child’s development is innate and biological
– the nativist approach proposed by theorists such as Chomsky, shaped=
by
learning and reinforcement (the behaviourist approach) or through interacti=
on
with the physical or social environment, as argued by theorists such as Pia=
get
and Vygotsky.
Whiting and Whiting’s cross-cultural study (1975)
turned attention towards differing cultural expectations of children. Their
study found that in cultures such as the Kenyan Gusii, the emphasis is on
‘training’ for adulthood, while Filipino culture allows a much
longer period before the child is expected to assume responsibilities. Hess=
et
al (1980) also explored the role of culture in shaping expectations of child
development, specifically exploring the expectations and attitudes of mothe=
rs
of five-year-old children. The compared the attitudes of 67
This report is of an exploratory study based on intervie=
ws
conducted using two Scottish mothers; a first time mother with a son several
years younger than Hess et al’s original cohort, and a mother of two =
with
a son several years older. The research question used in this study was
‘to what extent do cultural factors influence parental expectations of
child development, and in what way do these influences vary with parental
experience?’
Method
Design
This was an exploratory study based on the work of Hess =
et
al (1980). Two participants were interviewed regarding their expectations of
child development, with particular reference to the six areas of emotional
maturity, compliance, politeness, independence, social skills and verbal
assertiveness, and a comparison was drawn with earlier cross-cultural studi=
es
and between an ‘experienced’ and ‘inexperienced’
mother.
Participants
Two participants were used. Participant A is 38 years old
and the mother of a daughter, aged 11, and a son, age 10. During the study =
she
was asked to consider her developmental expectations in relation to her son.
Participant B is 42 years old and the mother of an 8-month-old son, her fir=
st
child.
Materials
A set of 30 statements relating to child development,
including a 'example' statement, were printed on individual cards. A sorting
sheet was used, with cards to be placed in one of three areas - Younger tha=
n 4
years', '4 or 5 years', '6 years or older'. A full set of statements can be
viewed in Appendix A.
Both participants were known to the researcher and agree=
d to
participate in the study voluntarily. The nature of the study was explained,
and participants were told that their interviews would be confidential and =
data
anonymous, and that they had the right to withdraw at any time. The intervi=
ew
technique and questions were piloted on the researcher.
In Part I of the interview, participants were shown the
statement cards, beginning with the example card. Participants were asked to
place the example card into the square on the sorting sheet representing the
age at which they expected this to be achieved, and to continue placing the
statement cards until all cards had been allocated.
The second part of the interview began with the research=
er
asking the participant if there were any cards that they found difficult to
place. The participants were then asked if there were any statements that t=
hey
felt particularly strongly about. In both cases, these questions led to fur=
ther
discussion. Participants were asked whether they felt their views and
expectations of child development were ‘typical’, and who or wh=
at
they felt had influenced their views.
At the end of each interview, Hess et al’s research
was explained to the participant, with the opportunity to ask questions abo=
ut
any aspect of the study.
Participants’ responses were graded according to t=
he
age at which behaviour was expected: ‘Younger than 4 years’ was
graded 3, ‘4 or 5 years’ as 2 and 6 years or older as 1. Mean
scores are shown below:
|
|
Japanese mot=
hers
(Hess et al) |
US mothers |
OU UK mothers |
Participant =
A |
Participant =
B |
|
Emotional maturity=
|
2.49 |
2.08 |
1.84 |
1.40 |
1.80 |
|
Compliance |
2.24 |
2.04 |
2.18 |
2.00 |
2.25 |
|
Politeness |
2.49 |
2.30 |
2.61 |
2.00 |
2.00 |
|
|
2.13 |
1.92 |
1.73 |
2.00 |
1.50 |
|
Social Skills |
1.87 |
2.18 |
2.08 |
2.00 |
1.50 |
|
Verbal Assertivene=
ss |
1.73 |
2.18 |
2.17 |
1.80 |
2.20 |
Both participants anticipated later emotional maturity a=
nd
politeness than the earlier studies (1.40 and 1.80 for emotional maturity,
compared to 2.49 for the Japanese mothers, 2.00 for politeness against 2.61=
in
the OU UK study).
Participant A expected emotional maturity and verbal
assertiveness to lag behind development in other areas, while participant B
anticipated independence and social skills at a later stage than compliance=
or
verbal assertiveness. This pattern can also be seen in the results from the
pilot, a non-parent.
When asked which areas they felt particularly strong= ly about, both mothers identified the need for appropriate responsibilities fr= om an early age. Participant A picked out ‘independence’ statements such as playing outside unsupervised as showing the child “that their parents trust them to be responsible”. This was echoed by Participant= B, as “things won’t be done for them all of their lives”. Participant A also emphasised the importance of social skills such as aware= ness of other children’s feelings.
Both participants emphasised their own upbringing an= d adult experiences as major influences on their views; Participant A discussed her professional training in customer services, and Participant B her decision = to return to education as a mature student. Participant B also identified her partner’s views and media such as child rearing manuals and the ‘Child of our time’ TV series as important factors.
Discussion
It is clear from the interview responses that their children’s development is a matter of great importance and concern to both parents. Both participants clearly invested a great deal of time and energy into their children’s development, activities that reflect the= ir ‘implicit theories’ of child development, relating to several theories outlined by Das Gupta (1994). Behaviourist concepts of ‘learning’ through reinforcement and reward were mentioned seve= ral times by participant A in relation to ‘making [her children] independent’, rewarding good behaviour with increased independence and hoping that by teaching her children negotiation and communication skills a= t an early age, these would become ‘second nature’. Participant B alluded to Locke’s ‘tabula rasa’, the baby as ‘blank canvas’, yet seemed surprised by how much of a ‘core personality’ her 8 month old son possessed. Both participants made reference to the influence of the environment on their expectations; participant A allowed her children to play unsupervised an earlier age beca= use of her quiet residential street, while participant B compared her own secure and stable environment to that of a lone parent in a deprived area, adding = that ‘children can do things with encouragement, love and attention… regardless of social background.’
A number of comparisons can be drawn between these findings and those of Whiting and Edwards (1992) on cultural influences on parental expectations. Both mothers in this study returned to paid employme= nt after a minimal period of maternity leave and expressed strong views on children’s independence; the need for independence from the mother was also expressed, albeit in a different context, among Kenyan Gusii women (Whiting and Edwards, 1992). It is interesting to note that the participants’ views on independence and social skills such as the abi= lity to play and interact with other children in a day care setting were not ref= lected in their scores in part I of the interview in comparison with Hess et al (1980), although this may be attributable to the age of the children rather than cultural differences. Participant B in particular expected independence and social skills at a later age than any of the earlier studies, reflecting the difficulty for a first-time mother in predicting her son’s development. This is further reflected in the similarities between particip= ant B’s scores and those of the pilot, a non-parent, and may reflect that= by the age of 5, many children will already demonstrate some of the behaviours outlined in the statement cards.
Whiting and Edwards (1992) also identified gender differences in parental attitudes; while both participants in this study related their answers to boys, participant B felt strongly that her expectations and desires for her son’s future related to his gender a= nd a desire to avoid reinforcing cultural stereotypes present in her extended family, stating “children need to know that things won’t just be done for them, especially boys.”
Both participants were well-educated professionals, = and both acknowledged their professional and social status and the cultural influences that this had exposed them to. Participant A referred to her cus= tomer services background and her attempts to pass this training on to her childr= en, while participant B acknowledged her own route back to education in her 30s= as challenging her expectation that ‘development must be vertical’= as well as reinforcing her determination not to ‘pressurise’ her s= on.
While this exploratory study has provided some insig= ht into the expectations of the parents involved, it is important to consider = the merits of the methodology used. Although participants were reassured when a= sked to participate in the study that the purpose of the research was to elicit their personal views rather than to ‘test’ them, participants m= ay have experienced anxiety and a desire to give the ‘right’ answe= r, reflected in hesitation in giving answers, particularly notable during the interview with participant B, a new and relatively inexperienced parent.
While the statement cards provided a useful tool for quantification and categorisation of data, participants may not have interpreted the statements in the same way, and both participants commented that some cards statements were unclear, for example, no timescale was given for the child entertaining themselves. While the latter sections of the interview provided an interesting insight into parental attitude, such a sm= all sample can only provide the basis for an exploratory comparison, and a larger-scale replication of Hess et al’s study would be interesting, particularly given social changes such as mothers’ employment status = in the last 25 years.
Conclusion
This study provided an insight into different parent= al expectations, enabling comparisons to be drawn between participants and with earlier cross-cultural studies. While both participants expressed strong beliefs and expectations of their children’s development, differences from the findings of earlier studies were not as great as might have been expected given the cultural differences and social changes in the interveni= ng period.
Bibliography
Das Gupta, P. (1994) 'Images of childhood and theori=
es of
development', in Oates, J. (ed) The Foundations of Development,
Goodnow, J. J., Cashmore, J., Cotton, S. and Knight,= R. (1984) ‘Mothers’ developmental timetables in two cultural groups’, International Journa= l of Psychology, vol. 19, pp. 192 – 205
Goodnow, J. J. and Collins, W. A. (1990), Development According to Parents: the
nature, sources and consequences of parents’ ideas,
Hess, R. D., Kashiwagi, K., Azuma, H., Price, G. G. = and Dickson, W. P. (1980) ‘Maternal expectations for mastery of developme= ntal tasks in Japan and the United States’, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 15, pp. 259 - 70
Whiting, B. and Edwards, C. P. (1992), '
Whiting, B. and Whiting, J. (1975), cited in Das Gup= ta (1994), pp. 10 - 12