This study examined the effects of aid from mother and older sibling on the problem-solving behaviors of 120 first graders. Children with older sisters showed more advanced problem solving after aid, while those with older brothers did not. Interpretations in terms of family interaction patterns are offered. (JMB)

Results suggest that mothers of both learning-disabled and nondisabled children engage in conversational buffering, although there were few differences between the mothers and the learning-disabled and nondisabled children. Learning-disabled Ss were more likely to agree with and less likely to disagree with their mothers than were nondisabled Ss.…

Eight school-aged boys with learning disabilities (LD) with a discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ and with more language difficulties were less successful on a mother/child problem-solving task. Their mothers exhibited lower communication clarity in their instructions to the children than the mothers of the eight boys with LD who did not…

This study examined parental influence on children's cognitive skills by investigating characteristics of parent-child interaction in two tasks that required strategic activity and within which instruction in metacognition could occur. Subjects were 60 third and fourth grade girls and their mothers, who were divided into 2 experimental groups and…

Effects of mothers' need for approval on children's expectancies for success and persistence during failure were studied for 90 fifth graders attempting to solve 4 puzzles, 3 of which were unsolvable. Parental and situational variables affect children's achievement cognitions and behavior. Implications for parental socialization of achievement are…