Inhibitory Control and Its Relation To Theory of Mind, Parental Discipline, and Parental Self-Control In African American Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and social domains that contribute to the development of impulsivity and self-control in African American preschoolers. Following the work of Carlson and Moses (2001), preschoolers were assessed on a battery of inhibitory control and theory of mind tasks. Parental discipline and parental self-control were also examined through two maternal self-report measures. The hypothesis was that theory of mind and parental discipline and parental self-control each make independent contributions to preschoolers’ development of inhibitory control. The results revealed that age was not significantly correlated with any of the inhibitory control or theory of mind variables. Also, these data suggest that the relationship between inhibitory control and theory of mind is not very strong. In regards to parental discipline, the results showed that African American parents in this sample were more likely to use verbal reprimand instead of physical punishment. In reference to inhibitory control and parental discipline, parent’s disciplinary styles varied and their choice of discipline may be in response to the child’s behavior.