Mastery Motivation and Self-Evaluative Affect in Toddlers: Longitudinal Relations with Maternal Behavior

This study examined relations between maternal control and evaluative feedback during the second year of life and children's mastery motivation and expressions of self-evaluative affect a year later. Participants were 75 toddlers (35 girls, 40 boys) and their mothers. Maternal controlling behavior and evaluative feedback were examined while mothers taught their 24-month-olds a challenging task. Children's mastery motivation and expressions of self-evaluative affect were assessed during easy and difficult achievement-like tasks when they were 36 months old. Maternal evaluative feedback and control style at 24 months predicted children's shame, persistence, and avoidance of mastery activities at 36 months. Specifically, negative maternal evaluations at age two related to children's later shame, especially when feedback was linked to children's actions or products; positive maternal feedback overall, as well as corrective feedback, related to children's later persistence; mothers who engaged in more autonomy-supporting control with their 2-year-olds had children who were less likely to avoid challenging activities at age 3. Children's pride at 36 months was not predicted by mothers' behavior at 24 months.