Effects of social class on children's motoric expression

Bibliographic Data

ID9788895
AuthorsMichael A Wallach (corresponding author), Marilyn L Martin
Year1970
Volume3
Issue1
Pages106-113
Publication date1970-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/h0029410
OpenAlexW2109713181
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited8

From a consideration of middle-class versus lower-class child-rearing practices, two contradictory types of predictions were formulated concerning possible effects of class on children's motoric constrictionexpansiveness. Middle-class permissiveness compared to lower-class restrictiveness regarding parental sanctions for child behavior implies the outcome of greater motoric expansiveness for middle-class than for lower-class children. On the other hand, the relative dominance of verbal forms of expression in the middle class compared to nonverbal forms of expression in the lower class implies the outcome of greater motoric expansiveness for lower-class than for middle-class children. With 283 white children as subjects, greater motoric expansiveness, as measured in terms of designdrawing activity, was consistently found for lower-class than for middle-class children at each of four grade levels spanning the elementary school years, and this outcome also replicated for members of both sexes. Thus, the latter rather than the former theoretical perspective concerning class effects clearly was supported by the data. It is a matter of common knowledge that the cultural matrix surrounding a child as he grows up can affect his patterns of expressive movement. Thus, for example, Efron and Foley (1947) compared the spontaneous gestural behavior of unassimilated Italian and Jewish adult immigrants in New York City and found that, among other differences, the gestural patterns of the Italians could be characterized as more extensive in scope or more expansive than those of the Jews. Since, in turn, these differences disappeared when comparing assimilated Italians and Jews—that is, Italians and Jews who were well integrated into the American cultural environment—Efron and Foley were able to conclude that social stimulation rather than so-called 'racial' descent seems to have been operative [p. 40]. Various sources of evidence agree in suggesting, furthermore, that the relative constriction or expansiveness of a person's motoric expression seems to constitute a

Class (philosophy · Developmental psychology · Expression (computer science · Child and Animal Learning Development · Children's Physical and Motor Development · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills · Psychology

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