TOWARD A SYNTHESIS OF PARENTAL SOCIALIZATION AND CHILD TEMPERAMENT IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIENCE

It is argued that, while research on ConSCience development has emphasized the contribUtiOn of parental socialization, the influence of children's temperament has been largely neglected. Two developmental processes that result in the formation of two respective components of conscience are proposed: (1) development of the tendency to experience affective discomfort, guilt, and anxiety associated with wrongdoing; and (2) development of behavioral control-the ability to inhibit a prohibited action, to suppress an antisocial or destructive impulse, and to perform a more prosocial/desirable behavior. Individual differences among children and qualities of parental socialization in relation to both processes are considered as they contribute to conscience development. Relevant evidence from neopsychoanalytic, attributional, social-learning, and temperament models is reviewed. New avenues of research that integrate socialization and temperament perspectives in a developmental framework are proposed. The importance of the study of early developmental periods is emphasized.