The effects of paternal and maternal grandmothers on mother's disciplinary behavior

Abstract

Following Tomlin and Passman (1991), this study examined whether advice of paternal and maternal grandmothers had different effects on mothers' disciplinary behavior of their children. Mothers, grandmothers, and 4-7-year-old children from 22 three-generational families participated in the study. Whenever the child made an error during a task, the reward was to be reduced. The mother decided the amount to be reduced on advice of the grandmother, who then was informed of her decision. In fact, however, the child's performance, grandmother's advice, and disciplinary decision were manipulated by the experimenter. Results showed that mothers living with paternal grandmothers modified their decision in accordance with the advice, while mothers living with maternal grandmothers did not. The mother's decision had similar effects on subsequent advice by the paternal or maternal grandmother, both of whom tended to endorse her decision. Thus, paternal and maternal grandmothers' advice had different effects on maternal disciplinary behavior of the children.