PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL ATTITUDES BY STUDENTS VARYING
IN INTELLECTUAL ABILITY AND EDUCATIONAL EFFICIENCY
JAMES A. STEHBENS AND DONALD
L.
CARR
University
of
Iowa
Students of similar mental ability differ widely with respect to academic per-
formance. While some of the errors in the prediction of educational achievement
are undoubtedly due to the errors in the instruments employed to measure both
ability and achievement, clinical observations and a multitude of previous investi-
gations indicate that there are also differences in the home environment which
might be associated with discrepancies between ability and achievement. According
to Combs and Snygg
(1954),
a
person’s behavior is a function of his individual
perceptions.
“People do not behave according
to
the facts as others see them. They behave ac-
cording to the facts as they see them. What governs behavior from the point of view of the
individual himself are his unique perceptions of himself and the world
in
which he
lives, the meanings things have for
him
[Combs
&
Snygg,
1954,
p.
171.”
Granting the
above formulations as valid, a child’s perception
of
his parental attitudes would
appear to be influential in his behavior. The reported investigation was designed to
study the relationship between ninth-grade pupil perceptions of parental attitudes
and these students’ educational efficiency and intellectual ability.
Morrow and Wilson
(1961)
studied two groups of high school boys of superior
intelligence who varied in educational achievement. The subjects in that investiga-
tion completed a
96
item questionnaire concerning family relations. Results indi-
cated that the high-achieving boys had parents who reportedly engaged in more
sharing of activities, ideas and confidences; are more approving and trusting,
affectionate, and encouraging with respect to achievement; are less restrictive and
severe; and enjoy more acceptance of parent attitudes by their children. Hicks
(1965)
studied the relationships between ninth-grade boys’ perceptions of parental
attitudes as they relate to discrepancies between the actual and predicted grade
point average of these boys. Hicks concluded that the average and high-achieving
ninth-grade boy perceives the father-son relationship
as
“warm and accepting,’’
allowing the child to devote more time and attention to his need for “self-actual-
ization.”
Drews and Teahan
(1957)
concluded that mothers of high achievers from two
intellectual groups had higher scores on both a dominance and an ignoring scale.
Crandell, Dewey, Katkovsky, and Preston
(1964)
assessed the relationship between
the attitudes and behavior of parents of elementary school children and the children’s
academic performances. Results indicated that girls who were competent readers
had less affectionate, as well as less nurturant mothers.
The nature of such contradictory evidence has produced a degree of confusion
in this research area. Results appear to be influenced in part by differences in re-
search design as well as by differences in the effects of various parental attitudes on
the achievement behavior
of
their children. While the majority of studies appear
to
indicate that “democratic” attitudes foster academic attainment, the studies
indicating that more “negative” attitudes being associated with academic attain-
ment also merit consideration. The suggestion of Drews and Teahan
(1957)
appears