Abstract
Reminiscing about the past is an everyday activity that has implications for children’s developing memory and socioemotional skills. However, little research has systematically examined how mothers and fathers may differentially elaborate and engage their daughters and sons in reminiscing. In this study, we asked 42 broadly middle-class, highly educated U.S., mostly Caucasian mothers and fathers from the same families, living in the southeastern U.S., to reminisce about a happy, sad, peer conflict, parental conflict, playground and special outing experience with their 4-year-old child. Narratives were coded for parental styles of cognitive elaboration and joint engagement. Results indicated that mothers are both more elaborative and engaged with children than fathers are, especially about negative emotional and positive play experiences. Thus, mothers appear to be helping children recount and understand their personal past more than fathers, and specifically, in working through difficult emotions that may facilitate emotion regulation skills.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartko, J. J. (1966). The intraclass correlation coefficient as a measure of reliability. Psychological Reports, 19, 3–11. doi:10.2466/pr0.1966.19.1.3.
Bauer, P. J., Stennes, L., & Haight, J. C. (2003). Representation of the inner self in autobiography: Women’s and men’s use of internal states language in personal narratives. Memory, 11, 27–42. doi:10.1080/741938176.
Bird, A., & Reese, E. (2006). Emotional reminiscing and the development of an autobiographical self. Developmental Psychology, 42, 613–626. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.613.
Boland, A. M., Haden, C. A., & Ornstein, P. A. (2003). Boosting children’s memory by training mothers in the use of an elaborative conversational style as an event unfolds. Journal of Cognition and Development, 4, 39–65. doi:10.1080/15248372.2003.9669682.
Brannon, L. (2005). Gender: Psychological perspectives. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Brody, L. R., & Hall, J. A. (1993). Gender and emotion. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 447–460). New York: Guilford Press.
Bruner, J. S. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Etzion-Carasso, A., & Oppenheim, D. (2000). Open mother-pre-schooler communication: Relations with early secure attachment. Attachment & Human Development, 2, 347–370. doi:10.1080/14616730010007914.
Farrant, K., & Reese, E. (2000). Maternal style and children’s participation in reminiscing: Stepping stones in children’s autobiographical memory development. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1, 193–225. doi:10.1207/S15327647JCD010203.
Fischer, A. H. (2000). Gender and emotion: Social psychological perspectives. NY: Cambridge University Press.
Fivush, R. (1989). Exploring sex differences in the emotional content of mother-child conversations about the past. Sex Roles, 20, 675–691. doi:10.1007/BF00288079.
Fivush, R. (1998). Interest, gender and personal narrative: How children construct self-understanding. In A. Karp, A. Renninger, J. Baumeister, & L. Hoffman (Eds.), Interest and gender in education (pp. 58–73). Kiel: Institute for Science Education.
Fivush, R., & Buckner, J. P. (2003). Constructing gender and identity through autobiographical narratives. In R. Fivush & C. Haden (Eds.), Autobiographical memory and the construction of a narrative self: Developmental and cultural perspectives (pp. 149–168). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Fivush, R., & Fromhoff, F. A. (1988). Style and structure in mother-child conversations about the past. Discourse Processes, 11, 337–355. doi:10.1080/01638538809544707.
Fivush, R., & Nelson, K. (2004). Culture and language in the emergence of autobiographical memory. Psychological Science, 15, 586–590. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00722.x.
Fivush, R., & Nelson, K. (2006). Parent-child reminiscing locates the self in the past. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, 235–251. doi:10.1348/026151005X57747.
Fivush, R., & Reese, E. (2002). Reminiscing and relating: The development of parent-child talk about the past. In J. Webster & B. Haight (Eds.), Critical advances in reminiscence work (pp. 109–122). New York: Springer.
Fivush, F., & Sales, J. M. (2006). Coping, attachment, and mother-child narratives of stressful events. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 125–150.
Fivush, R., & Vasudeva, A. (2002). Remembering to relate: Socioemotional correlates of mother-child reminiscing. Journal of Cognition and Development, 3, 73–90. doi:10.1207/S15327647JCD0301_5.
Fivush, R., & Zaman, W. (in press). Gender, subjective perspective and autobiographical consciousness. In P. J. Bauer & R. Fivush (Eds.), The handbook of children’s memory development. NY: Wiley-Blackwell.
Fivush, R., Haden, C., & Adam, S. (1995). Structure and coherence of preschoolers’ personal narratives over time: Implications for childhood amnesia. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 60, 32–56. doi:10.1006/jecp.1995.1030.
Fivush, R., Brotman, M. A., Buckner, J. P., & Goodman, S. H. (2000). Gender differences in parent-child emotion narratives. Sex Roles, 42, 233–253. doi:10.1023/A:100709120706.
Fivush, R., Berlin, L. J., McDermott-Sales, J., Menuti-Washburn, J., & Cassidy, J. (2003). Functions of parent-child reminiscing about emotionally negative events. Memory, 11, 179–192. doi:10.1080/741938209.
Fivush, R., Haden, C. A., & Reese, E. (2006). Elaborating on elaborations: Maternal reminiscing style and children’s socioemotional outcome. Child Development, 77, 1568–1588. doi:10.1016/S0885-2014(05)80002-4.
Fivush, R., Marin, K., McWilliams, K., & Bohanek, J. G. (2009). Family reminiscing style: Parent gender and emotional focus in relation to child well-being. Journal of Cognition and Development, 10, 210–235. doi:10.1080/15248370903155866.
Fivush, R., Bohanek, J. G., & Zaman, W. (2011). Personal and intergenerational narratives in relation to adolescents’ well-being. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2011, 45–57. doi:10.1002/cd.288.
Fivush, R., Bohanek, J. G., Zaman, W., & Grapin, S. (2012). Gender differences in adolescents’ autobiographical narratives. Journal of Cognitive Development, 13, 295–319. doi:10.1080/15248372.2011.590787.
Gini, M., Oppenheim, D., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2007). Negotiation styles in mother-child narrative co-construction in middle childhood: Associations with early attachment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 149–160. doi:10.1177/0165025407074626.
Habermas, T., & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 748–769. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.748.
Haden, C. A. (1998). Reminiscing with different children: Relating maternal stylistic consistency and sibling similarity in talk about the past. Developmental Psychology, 34, 99–114. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.34.1.99.
Haden, C. A., & Fivush, R. (1996). Contextual variation in maternal conversational styles. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 42, 200–227.
Haden, C. A., Ornstein, P. A., Rudek, D. J., & Cameron, D. (2009). Reminiscing in the early years: Patterns of maternal elaborativeness and children’s remembering. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 118–130. doi:10.1177/0165025408098038.
Harrison, M. J., & Magill-Evans, J. (1996). Mother and father interactions over the first year with term and preterm infants. Research in Nursing and Health, 19, 451–459. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-240X.
Hoff-Ginsburg, E. (1991). Mother-child conversations in different social classes and communicative settings. Child Development, 62, 782–796. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01569.x.
Hudson, J. A. (1990). The emergence of autobiographical memory in mother-child conversation. In R. Fivush & J. A. Hudson (Eds.), Knowing and remembering in young children (Vol. 3, pp. 166–196). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kuebli, J., & Fivush, R. (1992). Gender differences in parent-child conversations about past emotions. Sex Roles, 27, 683–698. doi:10.1007/BF02651097.
Kulkofsky, S., Wang, Q., & Kim Koh, J. B. (2009). Functions of memory sharing and mother-child reminiscing behaviors: Individual and cultural variations. Journal of Cognition and Development, 10, 92–114. doi:10.1080/15248370903041231.
Laible, D. (2004). Mother-child discourse in two contexts: Links with child temperament, attachment security, and socioemotional competence. Developmental Psychology, 40, 979–992.
Laible, D. (2011). Does it matter if preschool children and mothers discuss positive vs. negative events during reminiscing? Links with mother-reported attachment, family emotional climate, and socioemotional development. Social Development, 20, 394–411. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2010.00584.x.
Laible, D., & Song, J. (2006). Constructing emotional and relational understanding: The role of affect and mother-child discourse. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52(1), 44–69.
Lamb, M. E. (2002). Infant-father attachments and their impact on child development. Who are the fathers of today? In C. S. Tamis-Lemonda & N. Cabrera (Eds.), Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 93–118). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Lamb, M. E. & Lamb, J. E. (1976). The nature and importance of the father-infant relationship. The Family Coordinator, October, 25, 379–385. doi:10.2307/582850.
Lamb, M. E., & Oppenheim, D. (1989). Fatherhood and father-child relationships: Five years of research. In S. H. Cath, A. Gurwitt, & L. Gunsberg (Eds.), Fathers and their families (pp. 11–26). Hillsdale: The Analytic Press.
Leaper, C., Anderson, K. J., & Sanders, P. (1998). Moderators of gender effects on parents’ talk to their children: A meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 34, 3–27. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.34.1.3.
McAdams, D. P. (1992). Unity and purpose in human lives: The emergence of identity as a life story. In R. A. Zucker, A. I. Rabin, J. Aronoff, & S. J. Frank (Eds.), Personality structure in the life course: Essays on personology in the Murray Tradition (pp. 323–375). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Melzi, G., Schick, A. R., & Kennedy, J. L. (2011). Narrative elaboration and participation: Two dimensions of maternal elicitation style. Child Development, 82, 1282–1296. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01600.x.
Nelson, K., & Fivush, R. (2004). The emergence of autobiographical memory: A social cultural developmental theory. Psychological Review, 111, 486–511. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.111.2.486.
Niedzwienska, A. (2003). Gender differences in vivid memories. Sex Roles, 49, 321–331. doi:10.1023/A:1025156019547.
Oppenheim, D., Koren-Karie, N., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2007). Emotion dialogues between mothers and children at 4.5 and 7.5 years: Relations with children’s attachment at 1 year. Child Development, 78, 38–52. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00984.x.
Pasupathi, M., & Wainryb, C. (2010). On telling the whole story: Facts and interpretations in autobiographical memory narratives from childhood through midadolescence. Developmental Psychology, 46, 735–746. doi:10.1037/a0018897.
Peterson, C., & McCabe, A. (2004). Echoing our parents: Parental influences on children’s narration. In M. W. Pratt & B. H. Fiese (Eds.), Family stories and the life course (pp. 27–54). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Peterson, C., Jesso, B., & McCabe, A. (1999). Encouraging narratives in preschoolers: An intervention study. Journal of Child Language, 26, 49–67.
Peterson, C., Sales, J., Rees, M., & Fivush, R. (2006). Parent–child talk and children’s memory for stressful events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 1057–1075. doi:10.1002/acp.1314.
Reese, E., & Fivush, R. (1993). Parental styles of talking about the past. Developmental Psychology, 29, 596–606. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.29.3.596.
Reese, E., & Newcombe, R. (2007). Training mothers in elaborative reminiscing enhances children’s autobiographical memory and narrative. Child Development, 78, 1153–1170. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01058.x.
Reese, E., Haden, C. A., & Fivush, R. (1993). Mother-child conversations about the past: Relationships of style and memory over time. Cognitive Development, 8, 403–430. doi:10.1016/S0885-2014(05)80002-4.
Reese, E., Haden, C. A., & Fivush, R. (1996). Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons: Gender differences in autobiographical reminiscing. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 29, 27–56. doi:10.1207/s15327973rlsi2901_3.
Reese, E., Yan, C., Jack, F., & Hayne, H. (2010). Emerging identities: Narrative and self from early childhood to early adolescence. In K. McLean & M. Pasupathi (Eds.), Narrative development in adolescence: Creating the storied self (pp. 23–43). New York: Springer.
Ross, M., & Holmberg, D. (1990). Recounting the past: Gender differences in the recall of events in the history of a close relationship. In M. P. Zanna & J. M. Olson (Eds.), The Ontario symposium (Self-inference processes, Vol. 6, pp. 135–152). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Sales, J. M., & Fivush, R. (2005). Social and emotional functions of mother-child reminiscing about stressful events. Social Cognition, 23, 70–90. doi:10.1521/soco.23.1.70.59196.
Sales, J. M., Fivush, R., & Peterson, C. (2003). Parental reminiscing about positive and negative events. Journal of Cognition and Development, 42, 185–209. doi:10.1207/S15327647JCD0402_03.
Thorne, A., & McLean, K. C. (2002). Gendered reminiscence practices and self-definition in late adolescence. Sex Roles, 46, 262–277. doi:10.1023/A:1020261211979.
Wang, Q. (2006). Relations of maternal style and child self-concept to autobiographical memories in Chinese, Chinese Immigrant, and European American 3-year-olds. Child Development, 77, 1794–1809. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00974.x.
Wang, Q. (2007). “Remember when you got the big, big bulldozer?” Mother–child reminiscing over time and across cultures. Social Cognition, 25, 455–471. doi:10.1521/soco.2007.25.4.455.
Wang, Q., & Fivush, R. (2005). Mother-child conversations of emotionally salient events: Exploring the functions of emotional reminiscing in European-American and Chinese families. Social Development, 14, 473–495. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2005.00312.x.
Weinraub, M., & Frankel, J. (1977). Sex differences in parent-infant interaction during free play, departure and separation. Child Development, 48, 1240–1249. doi:10.2307/1128481.
Zaman, W., & Fivush, R. (2011). When my mom was a little girl…: Gender differences in adolescents’ intergenerational and personal narratives. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 703–716. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00709.x.
Zaman, W., & Fivush, R. (2013). Parent–child patterns of reminiscing and play: Relations to children’s attachment. under review.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supporting the Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life. The paper was written while the first author was a pre-doctoral fellow of the National Institute of Health, fellowship number 5 F31 HD 64545- 2. We are extremely grateful to Natalie Ann Merrill for endless hours of data collection, organization and coding. Additionally, we thank John Shallcross for help with coding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix A
Appendix A
Low Elaborative (Medium Engaged) Parent
Parent: What makes you sad? Does anything make you sad?
Child: No.
Parent: You know what sad means?
Child: No.
Parent: It means when, let’s say you wanna go outside and we don’t wanna go outside to watch you so you have to stay in the house. Do you be feeling sad then?
Child: Uh huh.
Parent: You think so?
Child: Uh huh.
Parent: Is that why you cry?
Child: Uh huh.
Parent: ‘Cause you wanna get your way?
Child: Uh huh.
Parent: Yeah? So whenever you’re sad do normally you cry?
Child: Uh huh.
Parent: Do you know why you’re cryin’?
Child: Because you said no one can watch me outside and I said, “You can watch me.” And you said, “I don’t wanna go outside.”
Parent: And that made you sad?
Child: Uh huh.
High Elaborative (Highly Engaged) Parent
Parent: This one says being sad. We have to talk about a time when you were sad.
Child: We didn’t go to Fernbank.
Parent: That’s right, yesterday when we didn’t go to Fernbank. That made you sad? Yeah. I was kinda sad too ‘cause I really thought it’d be fun to go. But it didn’t work out did it? Do you remember why?
Child: No.
Parent: No? I think there two things. Who was keeping you?
Child: Elan.
Parent: Elan kinda overslept on his nap, right?
Child: Yeah.
Parent: And by the time he got up it was late, so we didn’t have time to really get lunch before
Child: And I had an accident.
Parent: You had an accident. You’re right. And we didn’t wanna go to Fernbank if you were having an accident. And do you know what else there was?
Child: What?
Parent: What’d [Parent] really want to do yesterday?
Child: I don’t know
Parent: What did [Parent] do all afternoon?
Child: [Parent] wanted to watch football.
Parent: [Parent] really wanted to watch the football game didn’t [Parent]?
Low Engaged (High Elaborative) Parent
Parent: Alright, the next one, help me think of a time when you were sad. I’m having trouble thinking about that. When is a time that you were sad? Sometimes you get sad when you think about heaven, right?
Child: No –
Parent: Just the other day you were sad when you talked about heaven because you said you didn’t want to go to heaven. That made you sad, but we talked through it and we said it’s gonna be a happy place. Why is it gonna be happy?
Child: Because I don’t want to die.
Parent: I know you don’t want to die but we know that when you do, we’re gonna see a lot of people. You’re gonna see your grandpa’s that you never met, you’re gonna see one of your grandma’s that you’ve never met.
Child: No, there’s only one grandma in heaven.
Parent: Right, I said one of your grandma’s. So it will be a happy place, right? But you do kind of get sad when we talk about that.
Highly Engaged (Low Elaborative) Parent
Parent: Did you see a puppy the last time we went to the park?
Child: Hmm?
Parent: The puppy?
Child: Yeah, I wanted to pet it.
Parent: You did pet it.
Child: Yep, and I was so dirty. I was!
Parent: Did you have fun?
Child: I was!
Parent: Do you remember you got on the swing? You and (name) were on the swing and I was pushing you?
Child: Really high.
Parent: Mmhmm.
Child: Like, weeee! Wooo! Weee! Wooo! Weee!
Parent: Do you like going high in the big girl swing?
Child: Yeah, I like going really, really high. Like this, weee! Wooo! Woooo! Weee!
Parent: What about the rock climbing wall? Do you remember we raced up the wall?
Child: Yeah.
Parent: Who won?
Child: Yeah, you tried to beat me.
Parent: Yeah, because we were racing.
Child: And I was losing. I can’t, and I was taking 30 points. I was taking 30 points to get up that wall.
Parent: But you got up top. You went all the way up and then you came down. Do you remember?
Child: Yeah, I was telling you I was gonna fall down.
Parent: But you didn’t.
Child: Yeah.
Parent: You did a good job.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zaman, W., Fivush, R. Gender Differences in Elaborative Parent–Child Emotion and Play Narratives. Sex Roles 68, 591–604 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0270-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0270-7