Maternal Reinforcement Style and Cooperation-Competition among Anglo-American and Mexican-American Children

ABSTRACT The major theoretical formulations regarding the antecedents of prosocial motives and behaviors support the hypothesis that a generally rewarding and nonpunitive maternal reinforcement style fosters the development of prosocial motives and behaviors. To test that hypothesis, 189 Anglo-American and Mexican-American mothers in interaction with their children were administered the Reinforcement Style Game which assesses generalized tendency to be rewarding and/or punishing, and the children were administered the Social Behavior Scale which assesses prosocial and competitive motives and behaviors. Results fail to support the theoretical formulations which postulate positive effects of a rewarding, nonpunitive maternal reinforcement style for fostering prosocial development.