This study investigated the effectiveness of techniques of discipline employed by middle-class mothers to teach their children to resist a tempting forbidden object. Mothers' accuracy in describing their own behavior was also examined. Forty-three mothers and their 18-30-month-old children were brought in pairs into a playroom which contained an object (a microphone) which mothers had been asked to keep their children from touching. The behaviors of mother and child were recorded. After 5 minutes in the room, the mother left and the child remained alone for 3 minutes, while his behavior was observed. Following the playroom experience, mothers were administered a questionnaire and their children were tested using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Embedded Figures Test. Latency of each child's responses was timed to obtain a measure of impulsivity or reflectivity. Preliminary results showed that mothers used a variety of techniques to control their children, although "forbidding" was the most common techniques used. Parental report was found to be a poor indicator of the actual type of controlling behavior used. The forbidden object was touched by nine of the 29 children who were willing to remain in the room alone when the mother left. (Author/BRT)