Instructions: This text presents issues commonly seen in scholarly writing.

Please edit it
(including the references) using tracked changes based on CMOS 17. Include any queries
as Word comments.

Over thirty 30 years ago, developmental psychology researches research works began

distinguishing a difference between inherited and acquired components of temperament. Years of

investigating child and parent relationships have revealed remarkable findings. The sSon’s

relationship with his mother remains the most conducive. Pre-natal and childhood experiences

are features that continue to be studied.

The development of emotional self-regulation in infancy is a pre-cursor to many behaviors that

are essential for success in later part of life, such as self-discipline, delay of gratification, and

moral development. Self-regulation refers to an infants’s ability to modulate their emotional

arousal across situations of heightened emotionality. Examples of this behavior include re-

orientation of gaze and self self-comforting behaviors such as lip or thumb-sucking (Braungart-

Rieker, Garwood, Powers, & and Wang 2001). These important strategies are not, however,

inborn. The development of self-regulatory abilities and strategies is dependent upon the level of

sensitivity utilized by the parental figures (especially the mother) in daily interactions. Important

influential factors that play intoare vital for the parents’ sensitivity and ability to teach self-

regulation are socioeconomic status (SES), cultural values, mental representation of the

relationship between self and infant, main characteristic of interactions (facial displays, touch, or

objects), and overall parenting style. There are several parenting practices, that which have been

shown to contribute to infant self-regulation, and several which detract from it. This paper will

focus on the practices of the mother as she is, cross-culturally, most likely to be the dominant

figure in the infant’s life.

Research-based Based Literature Review

A study performed by Keller, Yovsi, Borke, Kartner, Jensen, and PapaligouraKeller et al. (2004)

examined the differences between cross-cultural expectations in parenting. They studied three

cultures in order to compare cultural expectations, parenting practices, and infant/child outcomes

in the areas of self-regulation and self-concept (which refers to a child’s independence and

knowledge of self as a separate entity). It was found that the culture that most valued

interdependency was more likely to have children with high self-regulatory abilities. Inter-related

beliefs of familiesy created a culture that valued highly a child’s ability to obey, conform, and

respect. The parenting style that was purported to encourage a child to self-regulate was referred

to as “Proximalproximal” and was mainly classified by increased amounts of physical contact

and body stimulation. The parenting style found in the culture at the other end of the spectrum

was called “Distaldistal” and meant that the parent spent far more time in face-to-face and object

interaction than incompared with physical touch. Distal parenting promoted self-concept and

independence, while whereas proximal parenting promoted self self-regulation and compliance

(Keller et al. 2004). It is safe to conclude that a warmer (classified by touch and nearness) and

more sensitive parenting style is directly correlated to an infants’s ability to control their

emotions..

Related to cultural value norms are tThe mental representations that mothers have of their infants

and of the relationship that subsists between them are related to cultural values and norms. This

These representations are is created by a combination of cultural values and individual values. A

mother that values a warm and companionable relationship with her child will generate just such

a mental picture of the interactions that take. When a culture or a mother values sensitive, child-

focused parenting, the children in that culture or of that mother are more likely to exhibit self-

regulatory capacities. A mother’s mental representation guides her behaviorur in parental

interactions (Rosenblum, McDonough, Muzik, Miller, & and Sameroff, 2002). There is

evidence, according to Rosenblum, etcet al. (2002), that a mother’s mental representation

correlates directly with her infant’s ability to regulate their his or her emotional experience. This

was tested using the Still Face test. The Still Face test consists of three segments: First, face-to-

face play between the mother and infant; secondly, the “still face” period in which the mother

holds a blank, unresponsive facial expression; and third, a re-engagement period in which the

mother comforts the child and tries to again interact in face-to-face play with them. Again, as in

the first study mentioned, specific parenting styles or representations were shown to interact

differently with infants. These styles were Balancedbalanced, Disengageddisengaged, and

Distorteddistorted. The balanced mothers, who again were characterizeding by warm and

sensitive interactions – --as well as sincere delight in their infants and the ability to describe in

rich detail their interactions with them –- had infants who engaged in self-regulatory behaviors

during the uncomfortable “still face” period of the test, and who were able to to return to a

balanced, positive state after mother re-engagement. Mothers who represented their infants in a

disengaged or distorted manner expressed repressed or even open anger, showed a tendency to

reject their infants’ needs, reversed roles calling their babies “buddies” or “confidants,”, and

provided confused and bizarre representations of their interactions. These mothers,

unsurprisingly, had infants who became criminals, as they were being raised by mothers who

were not sensitive and did not teach them.

As mentioned in the first study, a mother’s tendency to focus on objects and face-to-face

interactions promotes self-regulatory behavior in children who have high independence, but

lower self-regulation. An opposing view was found in a study that compared the self-regulatory

abilities of males versus females. It was discovered that mothers spend more time in social
interaction with sons than with daughters. More than 50% of girls were routinely engaged in

object exploration and facial expressions of curiosity, whereas more than 50% of boys were

smiling at and interacting with their mothers. Interestingly, although girls spent more time with

objects and less time with their mothers, they were found to be more capable of emotional self-

regulation than boys. Boys were more likely to fuss, cry, show expressions of anger, and gesture

to be picked up during the Still Face paradigm. Mothers of boys were more likely to engage in

social interaction with them than mothers of girls. This phenomenon was most readily explained

by the “squeaky wheel” principle, i.e., that the mother knows that the male demands more

attention as they are less capable of controlling their emotions, and, thus, has adapted herself

accordingly (Weinberg, Tronick, Olson, and Cohn, 1999). As stated by Weinberg et al. (1999),

“Thus, mothers and sons attempted to carefully synchronize their behavior but had more

difficulty then mothers and daughters in moving to joint social and object states.”

As mentioned in the first study a mother’s tendency to focus on objects and face-to-face

interactions promotes children who have high independence, but lower self-regulation. An

opposing view was found in a study that compared the self-regulatory abilities of males

versus females. It was discovered that mothers spend more time in social interaction with

sons than with daughters. More than fifty percent of girls were routinely engaged in object

exploration and facial expressions of curiosity while more than 50% of boys were smiling at

and interacting with their mothers. Interestingly, even though girls spent more time with

abject and less time with their mothers, they were found to be more capable of emotional

self-regulation than boys. Boys were more likely to fuss, cry, show expressions of anger and

gesture to be picked up during the Still Face paradigm. Mothers of boys were more likely

to engage in social interaction with them than mothers of girls. This phenomenon was most
 readily explained by the “squeaky wheel” principle, i.e., that the mother knows that the

male demands more attention as they are less capable of controlling their emotions, and so

has adapted herself accordingly (Weinberg, Tronick, Olson, and Cohn, 1999). As stated by

Weinberg et. al., “Thus, mothers and sons attempted to carefully synchronize their

behavior but had more difficulty then mothers and daughters in moving to joint social and

object states.”References

Feldman, Ruth., Charles W. Greenbaum, C. W., and Nurit Yirmiya, N. 1999. “Mother-Infant

Synchrony as an Antecedent of the Emergence of Self-Control.” Mother-Infant

Synchrony as an Antecedent of the Emergence of Self-ControlDevelopmental Psychology,

35, no. 1 (January): 223–31.

Keller, Heidi, H., R. Relindis Yovsi, Joern. Borke, Joscha. Kartner, Henning. Jensen, & and

Zaira. Papaligoura. 2004. “Developmental cConsequences of eEarly pParenting

eExperiences: Self-rRecognition in tThree cCultural cCommunities.” Child Development

75, no. (6), (November): 1745-–1760.

Weinberg, M. Katherine., Edward. Z. Tronick, Karen. L. Olson, and Jeffrey. F. Cohn. (1999).

“Gender Differences In in Emotional Expressivity And and Self-Regulation During Early

Infancy.” Developmental Psychology, 35 35, no. 1 (January): 175–-188.