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The association of promised consequences with child compliance to maternal directives

Daniela J Owen1, Amy M Smith Slep, Richard E Heyman

  • 1Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, USA. Daniela.Owen@stonybrook.edu

Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology : the Official Journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53
|February 26, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Promising negative and immediate consequences to toddlers may increase compliance. This finding offers practical insights for parents managing child behavior and socialization challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Parenting Studies
  • Socialization Research

Background:

  • Noncompliance in young children is a frequent reason for seeking parental services.
  • Socialization research indicates that warnings about consequences correlate with increased child compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if promised consequences, compared to directives alone, are more strongly linked to toddler compliance.
  • To determine if specific types of promised consequences are more effective than others in promoting compliance.

Main Methods:

  • Study involved 40 White mother-toddler dyads (children aged 17-36 months).
  • Dyadic interactions were recorded during a 30-minute behavioral analogue situation.
  • Sequential analyses were employed using a derived coding scheme to analyze interactions.

Main Results:

  • Promised consequences did not show a stronger association with compliance than directives alone.
  • Negative and immediate promised consequences were significantly more associated with compliance.
  • The immediacy and negative valence of promised consequences appear crucial for effectiveness.

Conclusions:

  • Promising negative and immediate consequences may be an effective strategy to encourage compliance in young children.
  • Findings provide practical guidance for parents aiming to improve child compliance through effective communication strategies.
  • Further research could explore the long-term effects and nuances of using promised consequences in parenting.

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