Hi
Scott's observation about lesser negative impact of spanking in cultures where
it is more common (blacks, Kenya, India) than in cultures where it is less
common (e.g., whites, China, Thailand) is interesting, but perhaps not the only
consequence of spanking that might be important. Might cultures with greater
acceptance of spanking (and presumably other "mild" forms of physical
punishment) also be more likely to promote more severe forms of punishment
(i.e., these are not so distant from the norm, easier to distinguish spanking
vs not spanking than mild vs harsh spanking, ...)? I was prompted to think of
this by the finding that consanguinous marriages (usually cousins) do not have
marked effects on recessive disorders WHEN PRACTICE IS RARE (as in west) but do
have marked effects when practice is widespread (as in some middle eastern
countries and other groups) because of the increased negative consequences when
successive generations have many individuals who are in and/or the product of
consanguinous relationships.
Take care
Jim
James M. Clark
Professor of Psychology
204-786-9757
204-774-4134 Fax
j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca
>>> "Lilienfeld, Scott O" <slil...@emory.edu> 30-Nov-10 10:37 AM >>>
Re: Stephen B's comment, "interestingly, I do not recall ever finding a
psychology textbook which suggested that there were grounds to question the
alleged consensus against spanking."
At the risk of engaging in shameless self-(co)promotion, see the second edition
of our intro textbook (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Namy, & Woolf, 2010):
Yet we must remember that these studies [linking spanking to antisocial
behavior in children] are correlational and don't demonstrate causality [INSERT
CORRELATION-CAUSATION FLAG]. Other interpretations are possible. For example,
because children share half of their genes with each parent, and because
aggression is partly heritable (Krueger, Hicks, & McGue, 2001), the correlation
between parents' physical aggression and their children's aggression may be due
to the fact that parents who are physically aggressive pass on this genetic
predisposition to their children (DiLalla & Gottesman, 1991; Lynch et al.,
2006). It's also conceivable that the causal arrow is reversed: Aggressive
children may be difficult to control and therefore evoke physical abuse from
their parents. This hypothesis doesn't in any way excuse physical abuse or
imply that it's acceptable, but it may help to explain why it occurs. In
addition, it's possible that mild levels of punishment are effective, but that
severe forms of punishment, including abuse, aren't (Baumrind, Larazelere, &
Cowan, 1992; Lynch et al., 2006).
Making matters more complicated, the association between physical
punishment and childhood behavior problems may depend on race and culture.
Spanking and other forms of physical discipline are correlated positively with
childhood behavior problems in Caucasian families, but correlated negatively in
African American families (Lansford et al., 2004). Moreover, spanking tends to
be more predictive of higher levels of childhood aggression and anxiety in
countries in which spanking is rare, like China or Thailand, than in countries
in which it's common, like Kenya or India (Lansford et al., 2005). The reasons
for this difference aren't clear, although children who are spanked in
countries in which spanking is more culturally accepted may feel less
stigmatized than children in countries in which it's culturally condemned.
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D.
Professor
Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice
Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences
(PAIS)
Emory University
36 Eagle Row
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
slil...@emory.edu
(404) 727-1125
Psychology Today Blog:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html
Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/
The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and
his play,
his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his
recreation,
his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.
To him - he is always doing both.
- Zen Buddhist text
(slightly modified)
-----Original Message-----
From: sbl...@ubishops.ca [mailto:sbl...@ubishops.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 11:18 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] On Objectivity - and what research findings make us
uncomfortable?
I can't find Michael Britt's original post on this topic in the
archives but I recall that he said something to the effect that he
was ok with research on spanking because it showed that it has
harmful effects. This was compatible with his own view, and so it
didn't make him uncomfortable.
When I was teaching, I did find talking about research on spanking
made me uncomfortable. But not for the reason Michael gave. My
review of the spanking literature led me to conclude the opposite of
that of Michael-- that the research purporting to show its
harmfulness was of poor quality, mostly correlational, and based on
excessive massaging of data. Other research which I found persuasive
showed that judicious use of mild spanking did not have harmful
effects, and even some evidence of benefit. The name of Robert
Larzelere figures prominently here, and also that of the better-known
psychologist Diana Baumrind (e.g. see
http://ches.okstate.edu/facultystaff/Larzelere/)
Personally, I find spanking distasteful, and also distasteful that in
discussing my conclusion in class I appeared to be aligning myself
with the pro-spanking (often on religious grounds) crowd. Yet that's
what my evaluation of the research required.
So it made me uncomfortable to discuss it. I would tell my students
what the research shows but also distance myself personally from it.
I would say something to the effect that research does not support
the claim that mild spanking is harmful or support the view that it
should be banned (as some countries have done). But I personally
would never do it. It seems to me that this is not the same as saying
that beliefs have precedence over evidence. But is it still a cop-
out?
interestingly, I do not recall ever finding a psychology textbook
which suggested that there were grounds to question the alleged
consensus against spanking.
Stephen
--------------------------------------------
Stephen L. Black, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, Emeritus
Bishop's University
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca
---------------------------------------------
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