PERCEIVED MATERNAL CHILD REARING AND EFFECTS OF DELAYED REINFORCEMENT UPON CONCEPT ACQUISITION

Suggested that the hypothesis that delay of reward inhibits instrumental learning through frustration-produced competing responses, as applied to younger human Ss, will be more tenable if 2 relationships between perceived maternal child rearing and subsequent child response to social reinforcement are considered: (1) maternal control is positively related to general reinforcement sensitivity; and (2) maternal nurturance is positively related to degree of anticipated positive outcome in a reinforcement situation. Support was found for the prediction that high-control high-nurturance girls would learn concepts more slowly under delayed reinforcement conditions compared to high-control low-nurturance girls. This finding was reversed, given immediate reinforcement. No differences between low-control groups differing in nurturance were obtained. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.