Mastery Motivation and Self‐Evaluative Affect in Toddlers: Longitudinal Relations with Maternal Behavior

Abstract

This study examined relations between maternal control and evaluative feedback during the second year of life and children's mastery motivation and expressions of self-evaluative affect a year later. Participants were 75 toddlers (35 girls, 40 boys) and their mothers. Maternal controlling behavior and evaluative feedback were examined while mothers taught their 24-month-olds a challenging task. Children's mastery motivation and expressions of self-evaluative affect were assessed during easy and difficult achievement-like tasks when they were 36 months old. Maternal evaluative feedback and control style at 24 months predicted children's shame, persistence, and avoidance of mastery activities at 36 months. Specifically, negative maternal evaluations at age two related to children's later shame, especially when feedback was linked to children's actions or products; positive maternal feedback overall, as well as corrective feedback, related to children's later persistence; mothers who engaged in more autonomy-supporting control with their 2-year-olds had children who were less likely to avoid challenging activities at age 3. Children's pride at 36 months was not predicted by mothers' behavior at 24 months.

Mastery Motivation and Secure Attachment among Preschool Children in the Light of Depending on Domestic Workers in the Saudi Society

“…Around third year of their life, children display their annoyance if anyone exceeds standards. At 20 months, old, the children display unique feelings when their outcomes match, or fail to match standards (Kelly et al, 2000). Such feelings were expected to be a result of internalizing parental standards, through parental feedback.…”

“…Lutkenhaus (1984) found out the same phenomenon; at 36 months old, the mother praise accompanied with satisfaction by smiles correlated positively with their children motivation during tasks, while, the physical interruption and criticizing notes were negatively correlated with child motivation. Also, it was proved that the high control of the mother decreases the pleasure of achieving the task, decreases persistence and sense of autonomy in young children, and correlated with low mastery motivation, avoiding challenge, and low interest in tasks that include achievement (Kelly et al, 2000).…”

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“…Heterogeneous groups of maltreated children, which have included neglected as well as physically and sexually abused children, exhibit elevated levels of shame [83,[89][90][91]. Similarly, children whose parents are negative and rejecting or who use an authoritarian style of parenting are at increased risk of exhibiting shame [83,89,[92][93][94].…”

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“…Furthermore, Christenson, Hurley, Sheridan and Fenstermacher (1997) assert that variables related to parental attitudes and behaviour are more important than SES in predicting academic achievement. For example, Kelley, Brownell, and Campbell (2000) demonstrated that maternal positive feedback predicted the child's later persistence in tackling academic tasks, and maternal guidance resulted in less avoidance of challenging tasks a year later. Parental behaviour, and in turn academic success, appears to be linked to family structure.…”