ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, we engage in analysis showing children’s choices with respect to their responses to directives. They may agree to the directive, accept the directive with reservation, or ignore, object to, or reject it, as they display various affective stances toward the directive, as well as their alignment to or resistance toward parental authority. Through affective stance, portrayed through a range of intonational contours (pleading objections and defiant protests using emphatic speech and response cries) and bodily postures, family members calibrate their alignment toward the directive. Different cultural logics in argument trajectories are employed.
Parents can upgrade their directives through forms of threats or provide accounts and justifications. Activity contracts constitute important resources in the accomplishment of a successful directive trajectory and potential for compliance. In addition, shifts in affective frame can transform dreaded obligations into playful adventures through the use of haptic moves and a reconfiguration of bodies into new facing formations.
The prior history of action within the directive trajectory is implicated in the effectiveness of the directive. As accounts are provided for why actions should be complied with, directives become a locus for teaching and negotiating forms of moral behavior, and diverse forms of cultural logics are enacted.
