A Longitudinal Study of the Roots of Preschoolers' Conscience: Committed Compliance and Emerging Internalization

Abstract

The focus of this study is the complex relation between compliance and internalization in childhood. It is a replication and a longitudinal extension of earlier work, where we distinguished between 2 forms of compliance: committed, when the child eagerly embraced and endorsed the mother's agenda, and situational, when the child was cooperative, but lacked the sincere commitment and feeling of internal obligation. 99 children, seen previously at 26-41 months, were studied again at 43-56 months. Compliance and internalization were assessed in multiple observational contexts and using maternal reports. As at toddler age, the 2 forms of compliance had distinctly different developmental trajectories, and again, only committed compliance was significantly associated with measures of internalization. Moreover, committed but not situational compliance at toddler age predicted internalization at preschool age. Shared positive affect within the mother-child dyad at toddler age predicted some measures of internalization at preschool age. Further evidence of significant differences in children's compliance to maternal "dos" versus "don'ts" is reported.