Parental behavior ratings by subjects classified as reward-seekers or punishment-avoiders: supplementary report.

Abstract

In an earlier study (1) college Ss who were classified as reward-seeking or punishment-avoiding on a concepc learning task were given the Roe-Siegelman Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire to explore home background as a contributing factor in rewardand punishment-orientations. Suggestive, but nonsignificant, relations were found between the father and mother ratings by Ss of different orientations. On both the SymbolicLove Punishment and the Direct-Object Punishment scales, the punishment-oriented Ss rated their mothers higher than the reward-oriented Ss, while the opposite relationship was found for the father ratings. On the Symbolic-Love Reward, Direct-Object Reward, and Loving scales, the reward-oriented Ss rated their mothers higher than the punishmentoriented Ss, with the opposite relationship obtaining on the father ratings. The present study was designed to test these interacrions furrher. To provide better differentiation between the rewardand punishment-orientation Ss, a modified concepclearning task was used as well as the original task, and only Ss who were classified in the same orientation group on both tasks were given the questionnaire. A two-factor, mixed-design analysis of variance was carried out on the parent ratings by the two orientation groups on each of the five scales. Significant parent by orientation interactions, in the same direction as in the earlier study. were found on the SymbolicLove Reward scale ( F = 15.32, d f = 1/54, P < .01) , the Direct-Object Reward scale ( F = 11.00, d f = 1/54, P < . 0 1 ) , and the Loving scale ( F = 16.54, d f = 1/54, P < .01). The interactions on the Symbolic-Love Punishment and Direct-Object Punishment scales, however, were not significant (Fs < 1.00). The significant interactions on the two Reward scales and on the Loving scale provide support for the earlier speculation that more rewarding behavior by the mother is associated with a reward-seeking orientation. The speculation that greater punitiveness by the mother is associated with a punishment-avoidance orientation in children was not supported.