Measuring Mothers’ Warmth: Naïve Observers, Trained Coders, and Self-Reports

SYNOPSIS

Objective.The current research evaluated whether thin slicing, which involves brief observations of others’ behaviors, is useful in understanding maternal warmth in the context of mother-child interaction. Design. The extent to which naïve observers’ ratings based on brief observations correspond to other reports of maternal warmth as well as the predictive validity of such ratings were evaluated in 158 pairs of European American mothers and their early adolescent children engaged in a set of problem-solving activities in the laboratory. Naïve (untrained) observers provided ratings of mothers’ warmth based on the first 5 min of the dyadic interaction. Trained coders rated mothers’ behaviors based on the first 5 min as well as the full 15 min video using a behavioral coding system. Mothers and children reported on mothers’ warmth using surveys. Results. Naïve observers’ ratings were associated with trained coders’ ratings, but not with child or mother reports. Child reports of mothers’ warmth were associated with both subjective and objective measures of their academic functioning. Naïve observers’ ratings of mothers’ warmth were associated with an objective measure of children’s academic functioning. Conclusions. The correspondence between naïve observers’ and trained coders’ reports of mothers’ warmth warrants further investigation into the conditions under which less time- and labor-intensive methods, such as thin slicing, can be applied to assess parents’ expressive behaviors.

ADDRESS AND AFFILIATIONS

Cecilia Cheung, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521. Email: [email protected]. Danielle Delany is at the University of California, Riverside.

ARTICLE INFORMATION

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical principles

The authors affirm having followed professional ethical guidelines in preparing this work. These guidelines include obtaining informed consent from human participants, maintaining ethical treatment and respect for the rights of human or animal participants, and ensuring the privacy of participants and their data.

Role of the funders/sponsors

None of the funders or sponsors of this research had any role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participating families and the research assistants who helped collect and code the data. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone, and endorsement by the authors’ institutions is not intended and should not be inferred.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study analyzed data from the University of Illinois Middle School Motivation Project, which was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation [BCS-1023170] awarded to Eva M. Pomerantz.

Notes on contributors

Cecilia Cheung

Cecilia Cheung is an Associate Professor in the department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. Her research examines how sociocultural experiences shape learning in childhood through emerging adulthood. She has applied diverse methods, including cross-cultural, multi-informant, and longitudinal designs, to evaluate the implications of parenting, peers, and culture for the development of motivation and creativity.

Danielle Delany

Danielle Delany earned her PhD from the University of California, Riverside and is currently the Mental Health Policy Director at a nonprofit in California. She has conducted research in areas of parenting, creativity, and adolescent academic and socioemotional adjustment.