Effect of Child-Relevant Cognitions on Mother's Mood: The Moderating Effect of Child-Trait Conceptions
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1998
Keywords
MATERIAL COGNITION, MATERIAL MOOD, MOTHER-CHILD, CHILD-TRAITS
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1023%2FA%3A1018711918921
Abstract
A large literature suggests that cognition inclose relationships influences interpersonal processesand outcomes. The present study sought to extend thisarea of inquiry by investigating whether valenced cognitions about a target-child influencesmother's mood, whether preexisting trait conceptions ofthe child moderates this effect, and whethercognition-induced mood alters subsequent traitconceptions of the target. Eightymothers listed and wroteabout positive or negative characteristics of theirchildren. Regardless of child-trait conceptions,activating positive information elevated mothers' mood. In contrast, activating negative informationlowered mood only in mothers with relatively negativechild-trait conceptions. Mood induced by the cognitiveactivation procedure also independently contributed to postactivation child-trait conceptions ofthe child. Results suggest that negative traitconceptions of a child may create a cognitive contextthat makes parents vulnerable to negative affectivereactions to child behavior.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Cognitive Therapy and Research, v. 22, issue 1, p. 47-61.
Scholar Commons Citation
Murray, D. and Sacco, William P., "Effect of Child-Relevant Cognitions on Mother's Mood: The Moderating Effect of Child-Trait Conceptions" (1998). Psychology Faculty Publications. 891.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/891
