In an investigation of maternal teaching styles, 162 mothers taught their children two cognitive sorting tasks. Maternal teaching variables examined included language, motivation techniques, ability to interpret child's responses, and success in giving appropriate feedback in return. The effects of teaching styles on children were also analyzed. Once the mothers understood the sorting tasks, they were given unlimited time to teach them to their children, although they were not supplied with methods. Task 1 required children to sort a group of toys by color and kind. Task 2 required block sorting by height, color and marking. Only 10 of the 162 children made perfect scores on the posttest. Results indicated that maternal variables of education, general intelligence, coercive or encouraging teaching styles, and ability to motivate affected the child's performance, as did his own intelligence, interest in the tasks, and attitude toward the mother. The most successful teaching styles showed specificity of language and organization and sequential presentation of material to be learned. The paper contains examples of positive and negative ways of motivating children and developing constructive or destructive attitudes toward learning. The research was conducted at the University of Chicago Early Education Research Center, one of the components of the National Laboratory for Early Childhood Education. (MS)