本研究選擇人性觀中的能力觀作為主題,探討父母的能力觀,以及此能力觀在教養觀與教養行為上可能扮演的角色藉以瞭解人性觀與教養觀的關係。研究-採用小樣本的深度訪談法,結果發現受訪父母普遍認為:(1)「能力不可塑」;(2)努力是表現能力的中介變項;(3)較小的孩子有較大的教養可能性。研究二採用大樣本的問卷調查法,結果顯示父母認為:(1)「能力可塑」,此結果與訪談結果不一致;(2)努力是表現能力的中介變項;(3)較小的孩子有較大的教養可能性。至於能力觀對教養觀的影響則是:(4)持低可塑性能力觀者傾向能力歸因;(5)持低可塑性能力觀者判斷加強管教會有助於改善成績的比例最低;中可塑性觀者居次,高可塑性觀者最高;(6)持「低可塑性」能力觀者使用較多負向教養方式,持「高可塑性」能力觀者使用較多正向教養方式。綜合分析本研究的各種結果,或許可以說,以往教養觀與教養行為之間的關係之所以難以釐清,有可能是因為另有更重要的隱性信念-人性觀在發揮優勢的引導作用。
Two studies examined the proposal that implicit theories of intelligence moderate parenting beliefs and thus influence parenting style. In Study 1, 18 parents were interviewed in depth. The results suggested that parents' belief in the stability of intelligence was associated with an emphasis on the enhancement of children's attitude towards learning rather than the effort to change learning outcome. In Study 2, 1463 parents responded to a questionnaire requiring judgments about the malleability of intelligence and responses to fictitious stories about children's academic performance under various contexts. The results demonstrated that parents' beliefs about the malleability of intelligence may serve an important role in the evaluative processing of children' s academic performance and parents' own motivational processing in parenting.