Perceived Parent Attitudes as Determinants of Children's Ego Structure1

This study is concerned with the relationship between children's perceptions of acceptance-rejection and intrinsic-extrinsic valuation by parents, on the one hand, and various components of their ego structure on the other. Its principal differences from related studies in this area are (i) in relying on children's perceptions of parent attitudes and behavior rather than on parents' reports or observers' ratings, and (2) in relating these perceptions of parent attitudes and behavior to such characteristics of ego structure as level of ego aspiration, goal frustration tolerance and ideational independence rather than to criteria of personal and social adjustment. The use of children's perceptions of parent attitudes and behavior as the independent variable, instead of measures based upon actual behavior (or attitudes) of parents as reported by them (e.g., io, 11, 12) or as rated by observers (e.g., 3, 6, 8), is predicated upon two assumptions. First, although parent behavior is an objective event in the real world, it affects the child's ego development only to the extent and in the form in which he perceives it. Hence, perceived parent behavior is in reality a more direct, relevant and proximate determinant of personality development than the actual stimulus content to which it refers. The relationship between parent bchavior and its perceptual equivalent is, of course, an important problem in its own right. But in attempting to identify causal factors influencing personality development, it is less relevant to establish the nature of the actual environment to which the individual is exposed than to ascertain the distinguishing features of his perceived world. Second, it seems reasonable to suppose that children's perceptions of parent behavior and attitudes can be measured more validly than these latter phenomena themselves. In relation to such emotionally loaded issues as acceptance-rejection and intrinsic-extrinsic valuation, both verbal responses by parents to structured or unstructured interview questions and ratings of actual parent behavior 1IThis research was supported by grants from the Burcau of Educational Research, University of Illinois, and from the Committee on the Administration of the Ford Foundition Grant, University of Illinois.