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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Teenagers are less likely to cooperate and put effort into their mother's requests when they are said in a controlling tone of voice, researchers have found.
Speaking to a son or daughter in a pressurising tone is also accompanied by a range of negative emotions and less feelings of closeness, a new study has discovered.
The experimental study involving over 1000 adolescents aged 14-15 is the first to examine how subjects respond to the tone of voice when receiving instructions from their mothers, even when the specific words that are used are exactly the same.
Lead author of the study Dr Netta Weinstein, from Cardiff University, said: "If parents want conversations with their teens to have the most benefit, it's important to remember to use supportive tones of voice. It's easy for parents to forget, especially if they are feeling stressed, tired, or pressured themselves."
The study showed that subjects were much more likely to engage with instructions that conveyed a sense of encouragement and support for self-expression and choice.
The results, whilst of obvious interest to parents, could also be of relevance to schoolteachers whose use of more motivational language could impact the learning and well-being of students in their classrooms.
"Adolescents likely feel more cared about and happier, and as a result they try harder at school, when parents and teachers speak in supportive rather than pressuring tones of voice," Dr Weinstein continued.
The new study, published today in the journal Developmental Psychology[*], involved 486 males and 514 females, aged 14-15.
[*] Paywalled
(Score: 1) by Sally_G on Wednesday October 02 2019, @06:08AM (4 children)
I'm trying to think of any mother with an IQ larger than her shoe size who didn't know this already. If we can find such a mother, she is probably psychotic.
(Score: 2) by pvanhoof on Wednesday October 02 2019, @09:38AM
Psychosis is more common among smart people. So I doubt she'd be psychotic.
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Wednesday October 02 2019, @11:22AM (2 children)
I see it all the time - mothers ineffectually screaming at their kids who are running amok up and down the aisles of the grocery store, sometimes even grabbing them and yanking them by their arms.
Perhaps it's a selection bias (I only tend to notice the loud, obnoxious ones), but I seem to see a lot more bad parents than good out in public.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday October 02 2019, @03:32PM
You notice bad behavior a lot more than good behavior. As a parent, it's easy to discipline the bad and not praise the good. You need to support the good behavior, so they are more likely to make good choices. Even as adults, when you've done a good job, it's nice to hear your boss say so, if you indeed did a good job.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by Sally_G on Thursday October 03 2019, @07:12AM
Generally speaking, those children throwing tantrums in a store are not the teenagers under discussion. There is no excuse for those tantrum throwing children, and IMO, both mother and child should be spanked. But teens are a different breed of animal from toddlers and young children.