Sibling Structure and Perception of the Disciplinary Roles of Parents

This paper reports findings supporting the hypothesis that perception by children of the disciplinary role structure within the family varies with their order of birth. Recent research has shown that cardiovascular reactions of male subjects during experimentally induced stress vary with the subject's perception of the disciplinary role of the mother as compared with the disciplinary role of the father. Subjects responding with a cardiovascular reaction similar to that produced by infusion of epinephrine perceive their mother as playing the principal disciplinary role. Those responding with a cardiovascular reaction similar to that produced by infusion of norepinephrine perceive the father in the principal disciplinary role (4). Type of cardiovascular reaction during experimentally induced stress also is related to the direction of expression of anger. Subjects reacting to experimental frustration with an outward display of anger against the experimenter experience a norepinephrinelike cardiovascular reaction. Those who blame themselves for their frustrating experience, or react with anxiety, experience an epinephrinelike cardiovascular reaction (3). Since epinephrinelike cardiovascular reaction was found to be associated (a) with the turning of anger aroused by frustration inwardly against the self and (b) with perception of mother as principal disciplinarian, the suggested hypothesis that intropunitive attitudes would be associated with perception of the mother as principal disciplinarian has been recently tested. In a sample of 765 enlisted males in the U. S. Air Force, subjects saying they would blame themselves in hypothetical interaction situations involving harm to another person were more likely to perceive the mother in the principal disciplinary role than subjects saying they would not blame themselves (2). These studies provide considerable evidence of the existence of a relation between perception of mother as principal disciplinarian and intropuni