Maternal Strategies for Regulating Children's Behavior

The strategies that Japanese and American mothers use to gain compliance from young children were compared. Six hypothetical compliance-relevant situations were described to 58 Japanese and 67 American mothers. Their responses were scored for the rationale or cognitive structure they offered as a basis for compliance and the flexibility or psychological space evident in their negotiations with the child. Japanese mothers were more likely to utilize feeling-oriented appeals and demonstrated greater flexibility than their American counterparts. American mothers relied more extensively on appeals to their authority as mothers. The cultural contexts that contribute to these different responses are discussed.