A line of research initiated in the 1970s by Diana Baumrind delineates different styles of parenting. After observing parents interacting with their preschool children, Baumrind identified three types of interaction: acceptance and involvement, control (meaning the exercise of parental control), and autonomy granting (allowing children to make their own decisions). Four different styles of parenting were identified based on these behavioral patterns. Authoritative parents are high on all three types of behaviors, balancing parental control and recognition of the child’s autonomy. Authoritarian parents are high on parental control but low on acceptance-involvement and autonomy granting. Permissive parents are low on parental control and high on autonomy granting. They are high on acceptance but not always high on involvement, as such parents can be inattentive as well as over-indulgent. Uninvolved parents are low on all three types of behavior. Of the four parenting styles, authoritative parents produce the best results, with the most upbeat, self-assured, and socially and emotionally competent children.