Empirical Article
The Role of Mothers' Child-Based Worth in Their Affective Responses to Children's Performance
Florrie Fei-Yin Ng,
Eva M. Pomerantz,
Shui-fong Lam,
Ciping Deng,
Corresponding Author
Florrie Fei-Yin Ng
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Florrie Fei-Yin Ng, Department of Educational Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected].Search for more papers by this author
Florrie Fei-Yin Ng,
Eva M. Pomerantz,
Shui-fong Lam,
Ciping Deng,
Corresponding Author
Florrie Fei-Yin Ng
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Florrie Fei-Yin Ng, Department of Educational Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected].Search for more papers by this author
We are grateful to the families who participated in this research. We appreciate the constructive comments provided by members of the Center for Parent–Child Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This research was partially supported by the National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01 MH57505.
Abstract
This research examined whether American and Chinese mothers' tendencies to base their worth on children's performance contributes to their affective responses to children's performance. Study 1 used daily interviews to assess mothers' warmth (vs. hostility) and children's school performance (N = 197; Mage = 12.81 years). In Study 2, such affect was observed in the laboratory following children's manipulated performance on cognitive problems (N = 128; Mage = 10.21 years). The more mothers based their worth on children's performance, the more their warmth (vs. hostility) decreased when children failed in Study 1. This pattern was evident only among Chinese mothers in Study 2. In both studies, child-based worth did not contribute to mothers' affective responses to children's success.
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