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Mother–Child Problem Solving: Continuity Through the Early Childhood Years

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Beverly I. Fagot
Beverly I. Fagot
Beverly I. Fagot
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Mary Gauvain at University of California, Riverside
Mary Gauvain
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Abstract

Maternal ratings of child temperament and observed maternal behaviors in the home were collected when children were 18 months old. Both variables were examined as predictors of mothers’ problem-solving behaviors with their toddlers at 30 months and the children’s independent problem solving at 5 years. Maternal instructional behavior in the home at 18 months and maternal ratings of temperament at 18 months predicted maternal behaviors when the children were 30 months old and child performance in a cognitive problem-solving task. Maternal cognitive assistance during the 18- and 30-month tasks also predicted child cognitive task performance in the laboratory at 5 years of age. These same maternal behaviors were related to the child’s performance on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (D. Wechsler, 1967) at age 5, and lack of maternal assistance was related to teacher ratings of learning problems at age 5.
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Developmental Psychology
1997,
Vol. 33, No. 3, 480-4Copyright 1997 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
0012-1649/97/53.00
Mother-Child Problem Solving:
Continuity Through the Early Childhood Years
Beverly I. Fagot
University of Oregon and Oregon Social Learning CenterMary Gauvain
University of California, Riverside
Maternal ratings of child temperament and observed maternal behaviors in the home were collected
when children were 18 months old. Both variables were examined as predictors of mothers' problem-
solving behaviors with their toddlers at 30 months and die children's independent problem solving
at 5 years. Maternal instructional behavior in the home at 18 months and maternal ratings of tempera-
ment at 18 months predicted maternal behaviors when the children were 30 months old and child
performance in a cognitive problem-solving task. Maternal cognitive assistance during the 18- and
30-month tasks also predicted child cognitive task performance in the laboratory at 5 years of age.
These same maternal behaviors were related to the child's performance on the Wechsler Preschool
and Primary Scale of Intelligence (D. Wechsler, 1967) at age 5, and lack of maternal assistance was
related to teacher ratings of learning problems at age 5.
This longitudinal study examines continuity in mother and
child behavior across the toddler period and the role of early
maternal style for the development of child cognitive compe-
tence at age 5 years. The children's temperament and mother-
child interaction from home observations when the children
were 18 months of age were examined in relation to maternal
teaching in independent laboratory problem-solving tasks com-
pleted when the children were 30 months of age and to the
children's problem-solving performance when they were 5 years
old. The purpose of this study was to investigate the continuity
between early socioemotional characteristics of the child and
later maternal and child behaviors during cognitive activity. This
research stems from recent attempts to broaden the focus of
cognitive developmental research by examining social influences
on cognitive development. By introducing socioemotional pro-
cesses, such as temperament and mother-child interaction, into
the analyses, the interdependencies between the socioemotional
and cognitive domains in the early years might be traced and
Beverly I. Fagot, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon
and Oregon Social Learning Center; Mary Gauvain, Department of Psy-
chology, University of California, Riverside.
The research was supported by Grant RO1 MH 37911 from the Be-
havioral Sciences Research Branch, Family Processes Division, National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), U.S. Public Health Service (PHS)
and by NIMH Postdoctoral Grant MH 16955. Reporting this research has
been partially supported by Grant P50 MH 46690, Prevention Research
Branch, NIMH, U.S. PHS.
We thank the parents and children who have stayed in this study over
many years for their participation. We also thank Kate Kavanagh for
her help in developing the code and Wanda Grant, Denise Ford, Gene
Brown, Martha Hardwick, and Chris Coglin for their assistance on the
project.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Beverly
I. Fagot, Oregon Social Learning Center, 207 East 5th Avenue, Suite
202,
Eugene, Oregon
97401.
Electronic mail may be sent via Internet
to bfagot@oregon.uoregon.edu.
thereby provide a more complete picture of development than
occurs when these contributions are treated separately.
During early childhood, much of children's problem-solving
efforts are conducted under the guidance and supervision of
their parents
(Rogoff,
1990). In recent years, both theory and
research in cognitive development have considered parent-child
interaction as a primary arena for the development of cognitive
skill. This research has been largely influenced by Vygotsky's
(1978) notion of the zone of proximal development, which sug-
gests that much of cognitive development occurs in social situa-
tions as the child's problem solving is guided by an adult or
more experienced societal member who structures and models
ways to solve a problem. The structure provided in communica-
tion serves as a scaffold for the learner, providing contact be-
tween old and new knowledge (Wood & Middleton, 1975). in
this way, the social world provides the child with cognitive
opportunities—opportunities that originate in and are main-
tained through the contributions and goals of the participants—
that encourage and support learning and growth.
Tb date, much of the research exploring this idea has focused
on immediate situation factors as influential in directing the
course of the interaction (e.g.,
Rogoff,
1990) and on relatively
short-term consequences of these experiences, such as learning
outcomes as measured on a solitary posttest for the child imme-
diately following the interaction (e.g., Gauvain &
Rogoff,
1989).
These emphases stem from the nature of the claim
itself.
Cognitive opportunities that arise as the child and more experi-
enced partner collaborate in the child's zone of proximal devel-
opment are thought to benefit cognitive growth because the
learning situation can be uniquely adapted to the needs and
skills of the learner as revealed over the course of the interaction.
This understanding has focused attention on immediate task
demands as managed by the participants as the critical organiz-
ing feature of these sociocognitive transactions. However, factors
that participants bring to an interaction, both individually and
collectively, may also influence the cognitive opportunities that
emerge. The consequences of these encounters, especially when
480
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