When mom is wrong: Preschoolers place increasing limits on parental authority with age

Research suggests that young children possess a relatively complex understanding of adult authority that varies by social cognitive domain. However, little is known about how children react to adult authority that strays from expected guidelines. The current study exposed 4- and 5-year-old children to vignettes in which parents issue commands that reinforce social-conventional and moral norms, commands that violate said norms, and personal domain commands. Children were asked to judge the authority's legitimacy, as well as the child's obligation to obey. Results showed that children give the most support to typical commands and the least to atypical commands, with personal commands falling in the middle. Age effects also emerged, with older children giving less support to parental commands in the personal domain, and to atypical commands in both conventional and moral domains. Implications for future research and for parent-child relationships are discussed.

Automated summary

Research suggests that young children possess a relatively complex understanding of adult authority that varies by social cognitive domain, and children's support for different types of parental commands varies accordingly. Older children show less support for parental commands in the personal domain, as well as for atypical commands in both conventional and moral domains.