60 families participated in a laboratory procedure designed to test the effect of the parent in dispensing social disapproval. A child and 1 parent from each family participated in an operant conditioning situation in which the parent dispensed social disapproval contingent upon a simple motor-response of the child. The data show that sex of child, age of child, and sex of parents are not significantly related to the magnitude of the child’s responsiveness to parental disapproval. Data from an interview with the mothers of these families show that the punitive, restrictive homes were associated with responsiveness to disapproval in boys. Nonpunitive homes were assocaited with responsiveness in girls. Fathers who received high scores ont he Manifest Anxiety scale and low scores ont he MMPI K scale were assocaited with boys and girls who were most responsive to paternal disapproval. Boys responsive to parental disapproval were described by parents and by teachers as being inefficient in the classroom and as «immature». Girls most responsive to paternal disapproval were described by parents and teachers as being inefficient in the classroom, tense, and angry.