TY - JOUR PY - 1994// TI - Caregivers' attributions about children's misbehavior in child-care centers JO - Journal of applied developmental psychology A1 - Scott-Little, M. Catherine A1 - Holloway, SD SP - 241 EP - 253 VL - 15 IS - 2 N2 - How do training, education level, and child-rearing ideology relate to the attributions caregivers make concerning children's misbehavior in child-care classrooms? How does caregivers' attributional reasoning relate to their behavioral management strategies? These questions were addressed with data from 40 head teachers employed in 34 center-based child-care settings. Via questionaires, caregivers responded to four hypothetical incidents in which a 4-year-old child either committed a norm violation or failed to act altruistically. Caregivers offered attributions for the misbehavior and indicated their probable behavioral response. Results indicated that caregivers who were relatively authoritarian in their child-rearing ideology, had received less training in early childhood education, and had fewer years ofschooling, were more likely to attribute hypothetical misbehavior--particularly norm violations--to factors internal to the child. Caregivers emphasizing internal attributions were particularly likely to propose control strategies characterized by power assertion, disapproval, and sternness rather than redirection or ignoring the misbehavior.

LA - SN - 0193-3973 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -