Critical Thinking Questions

1. It often is assumed that parental socialization of children’s behavior is a bidirectional process, with the parent affecting the child’s behavior and the child’s behavior also evoking some socialization practices or behaviors. Provide examples of bidirectional causality in regard to (a) the relation between parental punitive practices and children’s aggression, and (b) the relation between parental use of punitive control and children’s self-regulation.
2. In some cultures, respect for authority, including the authority of parents in general, is valued more than in many Western industrialized countries. How might this cultural variation affect interactions between parents and children and the relation of parenting styles to children’s social and emotional development? Similarly, how might living in a culture in which men and women often are separated (e.g., do not eat together) and women are discouraged from going out in public affect parent–child relationships and interactions?
3. Think about the ways your parents interacted with you when you were a child. Based on Baumrind’s categories of parenting style, which type of parenting did your mother and/or father display? What specific behaviors did you use to classify their parenting?
4. Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of joint custody for children of divorce. How would the advantages and disadvantages vary for families in which the parents either (a) argue a lot or get along and (b) live 50 miles apart or 5 miles apart after the divorce?
5. What factors might make it difficult to study children’s development in families with gay or lesbian parents?