Adult Reports of Parenting They Received Relates to Different Types of Moral Orientations
Darcia Narvaez, Ashley Lawrence, Ying Cheng, Lijuan Wang
Evolved Developmental Niche• “The reliable and repeatable features of stimulation and
experience occurring in an organism’s developmental context”
“ontogenetic niche” (West and King,1987)
• the set of ecological & social circumstances typically inherited by members of a given species
Note: Adapted from Montagu, 1968, with additional info from Dettwayler, 1997; Harvey & Clutton-Brock, 1985; Konner, 2010; Trevathan, 2011; World Health Organization
Human babies are needy
• Developmentally born 9-18 months early• 25% of adult brain volume at full-term birth
(40-42 weeks) (80% by age 3)• Human babies require “exterogestation”
(Montagu, 1978)• “Constructive interactionism” (Oyama, 2002)
What is the human Evolved Developmental Niche?
• Inheritance, with slight variance, from social mammalian practices over 30 million years old
• Common among small-band hunter-gatherers (99% of human genus history)
Hewlett & Lamb, 2005; Konner, 2010; Narvaez, Panksepp, Schore & Gleason, 2013
• TOUCH: Held or kept near others constantly• RESPONSE: Prompt responses to fusses, cries and needs• BREASTFEEDING: Nursed frequently (2-3 times/hr
initially) for 2-5 years• EXTENSIVE SOCIAL SUPPORT and ALLOPARENTS:
Shared care by adults other than mothers• PLAY: Enjoy free play in natural world with multiage
playmates• POSITIVE CLIMATE: Immersion in positive emotions • SOOTHING PERINATAL EXPERIENCES
Hewlett & Lamb, 2005; Ingold, 1999; Konner, 2010; Narvaez, Panksepp, Schore & Gleason, in press)
Evolved Developmental Niche(30 million year old mammalian practices)
Self-regulatory mechanisms affected by caregiving
• Brainstem function (heart rate, respiration, attention)• Vagus nerve (affects all body systems and sociality)• Stress response (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)• Anxiety (glucocorticoid receptors in hippocampus)• Emotion systems (links between cortical executive functions
and subcortical emotion systems)• Immune system (number and ratio of immune cells)• Neurotransmitters (number and function of serotonin, NMDA
receptors)
Early Life Sets the Stage for Social and Moral Development• Responsiveness matters!• Mutually responsive orientation (Kochanska) and
secure attachment (e.g., Kochanska, 2002; Weinfield et al., 2008)
• Empathy (Zahn-Waxler, Radke-Yarrow, Eisenberg)• Self-regulation (Weinfield et al., 2008)• Conscience (Kochanska)• Openness (Greenspan & Shanker, 2004)• Agency/self-efficacy/competence (Weinfield et
al., 2008)How about the other evolved parenting practices?
Family Life Project
Lijuan Wang
Jennifer Lefever Ying (Alison) Cheng
Tracy GleasonTHANKS TO•Spencer Foundation•University of Notre Dame
– College of Arts and Letters– Office of Research– Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts– Department of Psychology
•Members of the Moral Psychology Lab
Family Life Project
a. Longitudinal observational & maternal questionnaires and interviews from 4 to 36 months (data from the Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect; n=636)
b. Maternal surveys of EDN behavior and attitudes in China (n=383) and USA (n=436)
c. Maternal survey of nurturing parenting attitudes USA (n=166)
a. Narvaez, Gleason, Wang, Brooks, Lefever, Cheng, & Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect (2013)
b. Narvaez, Wang, Gleason, Cheng, Lefever, & Deng (2013);c. Gleason et al. (under review)
Parenting Practice & Child OutcomesEmpathy Conscience Self-
regulationCooperation IQ Depression
(not)Aggression (not)
Natural Childbirth
Breastfeeding initiation
Breastfeeding Length
Touch
Responsivity
Play
Social support/ Multiple caregivers
Current StudyParticipants: 407 adults recruited through Amazon Turk took an online survey (Mage= 33.52; 56% male, 62% Euro-American).
Dependent Variables were Triune Ethics Orientations: • ENGAGEMENT: caring, compassionate, merciful, cooperative • IMAGINATION: reflective, thoughtful, inventive, reasonable • SAFETY: controlled, tough, unyielding, competitive• BUNKER: combative tough vigilant belligerent • WALLFLOWER: submissive yielding timid unassertive
Please respond to your views of how you are in SOCIAL SITUATIONS (rate 5 questions about conscious explicit goals and unconscious, socially-perceived behavior)
Predictor VariablesAttachment (CRQ; Bartholomew & Horowitz): Secure, Preoccupied, Fearful, DismissiveAnxiety and Depression: 64-item Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS; Watson et al., 2007) Physical Health: Health history, self rating (single items); past month (3 items). All were added.Moral Personality (Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Davis, 1983): Empathy, Perspective Taking, Personal DistressEvolved Developmental Health-History: EDN-H is a measure for adults with 15 questions about childhood experience. We use family togetherness (2 items), affection, punishment, play (3 items); supportive childhood (3 items); positive home climate, negative home climate
Evolved Developmental Niche-History FAMILY TOGETHERNESS (6 pt. scale)1.How often did you do things together as a family outside the home (e.g., going to religious services, shows, community events, visiting parks, traveling)? 2.How often did you do things together as a family at home (e.g., eating together, doing chores together, playing)?
AFFECTION: How often were you affectionately touched, kissed, or hugged by at least one of your parents or guardians?
PUNISHMENT: Did you ever receive corporal punishment from a parent or guardian (e.g., hit, spanked, slapped, pinched)?
PLAY1.How much did you participate in activities directed by adults (e.g., organized sports, clubs, scouting, music/dance lessons, etc.)? 2.How much did you play freely with other children OUTSIDE (play organized by the children; not in organized activities)? 3.How much did you play freely with other children INSIDE (play organized by the children; not in organized activities)?
Past Home Climate (PHC) IN YOUR FAMILY HOME WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD (age 0-18), please rate the emotion sets according to how frequently you felt them (6-pt) POSITIVE•JOY (Excited, Happy, Jovial, or Lively)•EXPANSIVE (Open, Playful, or Creative)•SELF-ASSURED (Proud, Confident, or Fearless)•SERENE (Calm, Relaxed, or at Ease)NEGATIVE•GRIEF (Downhearted, Sad, or Lonely)•HUMILIATION (Humiliated, Demeaned, or Shamed)•GUILT (Ashamed, Guilty, or Blameworthy)•FEAR (Dread, Tense, Nervous, or Scared)•ANGER (Angry, Hostile, Irritable, or Scornful)•NUMBNESS (Apathetic, Numb, Passive, or Shut Down)
Engagement Imagination Safety Bunker Wallflower Family Together Outside home .122* .158** -- -.112* -.161** In Home .254** .277** -.153** -.322** -.269** Affection .106* -- -- -- -.109* Punishment .163** -- -- -- -- Play Organized -- -- -- -- -.149** Play Outside .263** .222** -.113* -.240** -.233** Play Inside .219** .152** -- -.133* -.123* Home Climate Positive .247** .260** .098* -- -.235** Negative -.110* -- .099* .187** .240** Supportive .191** .128** -- -- -.127*
EDN
Engagement Imagination Safety Bunker Wallflower Anxiety -.172** -.144** .166** .408** .507** Depression -.207 -.162** .212** .438** .486** Poor Physical Health -- -- -- -- .260** Empathy .583** .446** -.249** -.303** -.143** Perspective Taking .402** .426** -.100* -.245** -.160** Personal Distress -- -- -- .236** .424**
Health and interpersonal
Summary of Correlations• Early experience appears to influence
predictors of moral functioning (secure attachment, empathic concern, perspective taking) and ethical orientation– greater EDN-consistent care was correlated with
Engagement and Imagination– Generally but not always, less EDN-consistent
care tended to be correlated with Safety, Bunker and Wallflower.
• Mental and physical health were correlated with ethical orientation—better mental health was correlated with Engagement and Imagination. Worse mental health was correlated with Safety, Bunker and Wallflower.
• Poor physical health was correlated only with Wallflower.
RegressionsA regression was conducted for each ethic (Engagement, Imagination, Safety, Bunker, Wallflower), testing four models.
Model 1 included childhood experiences (EDN): play (inside, outside), family togetherness (at home, out), positive and negative climateModel 2 added attachment (secure, preoccupied, fearful, dismissive) Model 3 added physical and mental health.Model 4 added interpersonal personality (empathy, perspective taking, personal distress).
Regression on EngagementModel Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R
Square Std. Error of the
Estimate
1 .335 .112 .103 .64081 2 .397 .157 .140 .62736 3 .432 .187 .164 .61861 4 .628 .395 .373 .53569
Model
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
1 Regression 20.840 4 5.210 12.688 .000
Residual 165.076 402 .411
Total 185.916 406
2 Regression 29.269 8 3.659 9.296 .000
Residual 156.647 398 .394
Total 185.916 406
3 Regression 34.757 11 3.160 8.257 .000
Residual 151.159 395 .383
Total 185.916 406
4 Regression 73.426 14 5.245 18.277 .000
Residual 112.490 392 .287
Total 185.916 406
Model
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig. Beta
4 (Constant) 5.450 .000
PLAY: Inside + outside .061 1.361 .174
Negative Home Climate .003 .067 .947
Positive Home Climate .133 2.729 .007
Family Togetherness -.005 -.103 .918
SECURE Attachment .053 1.038 .300
PREOCCUPIED Attachment .007 .161 .872
FEARFUL Attachment .013 .284 .776
DISMISSIVE Attachment -.027 -.621 .535
Depression Symptoms -.120 -1.631 .104
Anxiety Symptoms -.018 -.247 .805
Health (high score=poor) .095 1.989 .047
Empathic concern .450 8.828 .000
Personal Distress .042 .915 .361
Perspective Taking .110 2.332 .020
Regression on WallflowerModel Summary
Model R R Square
Adjusted R
Square
Std. Error of the
Estimate
1 .332 .110 .102 .94436
2 .451 .204 .188 .89795
3 .573 .328 .309 .82812
4 .609 .371 .348 .80432
ANOVA
Model
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
1 Regression 44.477 4 11.119 12.468 .000
Residual 358.509 402 .892
Total 402.986 406
2 Regression 82.071 8 10.259 12.723 .000
Residual 320.915 398 .806
Total 402.986 406
3 Regression 132.104 11 12.009 17.512 .000
Residual 270.882 395 .686
Total 402.986 406
4 Regression 149.390 14 10.671 16.494 .000
Residual 253.596 392 .647
Total 402.986 406
Coefficientsa
Model
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig. B Std. Error Beta
4 (Constant) 1.260 .435 2.900 .004
PLAY: Inside + outside -.007 .020 -.017 -.364 .716
Negative Home Climate -.052 .056 -.048 -.928 .354
Positive Home Climate -.145 .050 -.144 -2.917 .004
Family Togetherness -.013 .026 -.024 -.514 .608
SECURE Attachment .011 .024 .024 .456 .649
PREOCCUPIED
Attachment
.035 .023 .073 1.550 .122
FEARFUL Attachment .048 .025 .090 1.963 .050
DISMISSIVE Attachment .069 .023 .135 3.045 .002
Depression Symptoms .194 .106 .138 1.828 .068
Anxiety Symptoms .107 .035 .221 3.040 .003
Health (high score=poor) -.007 .013 -.025 -.520 .603
Empathic concern -.002 .069 -.002 -.032 .974
Personal Distress .278 .055 .233 5.035 .000
Perspective Taking -.047 .069 -.033 -.690 .491
a. Dependent Variable: wallflowerethic
Summary of Regressions
• The fourth model in each regression explained the greatest amount of variance.– For Engagement: EDN home climate; interpersonal
morality (empathy, perspective taking) were significant predictors
– For Wallflower: EDN home climate (lack of positive); Fearful and Dismissive attachment; poor mental health (anxiety and depression); and interpersonal reactivity (personal distress)
Mediation Models Predicting Engagement
EDN Variable
Empathic Concern
Perspective Taking
Engagement Orientation
Direct and indirect effects are significant for
• Family Togetherness (at home and away)• Play (inside and outside)• Positive Home Climate• Breastfeeding
Discussion
• Adults’ self-reported early experience (EDN) was related to the predictors of moral functioning (attachment, interpersonal orientation), to mental health, and to ethical orientations in correlations and regressions.
• Initial mediation analyses indicate not only direct effects of EDN on Engagement but indirect effects (EDN mediated by empathic concern and perspective taking).
Conclusion
• The epigenetic and developmental plasticity effects of early experience need to be closely examined for their specific influences on moral functioning.
PRESENCE Right brain dominant
FOCUS ON POSSIBILITYLeft brain dominant
IMAGINATION ETHICCONDITIONED PAST
Wallflower
Bunker
SECURITY ETHIC
Communal Imagination
Vicious Imagination
ENGAGEMENT ETHIC
Personal Imagination
Subjective moral
orientations
Detached Imagination
SAFETY
For more information
• Darcia Narvaez ([email protected])
• Webpage (download papers): http://www.nd.edu/~dnarvaez/
• My blog at Psychology Today: Moral Landscapes http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes