1.2.5 debate - mother as the primary care giver evaluation

Question 1

What is an ethical implication of the debate

Answer 1

Predjudices and stereotypes towards same-sex male couples could be created by concentrating on theories such as Freud or Bowlbys

Question 2

Why is this ethical implication problematic

Answer 2

• Abraham et als research showed that male gay couples brain activity mirrored that of a mother-father pairing
• Belsky and Sigmans findings that mothers who do not care for their children but use day care are predjudice by one sided view points

Question 3

What is a social implication of the debate

Answer 3

• Recognition of the role of the father means that changes to maternity/paternity rights have been put in place in the UK

Question 4

What do these changes do

Answer 4

Allow either the mother or father to take their maternity rights/benefits to care for their child or to share responsibility equally

Question 5

What does this mean

Answer 5

The flexibility brings parenting into the 21st centuary and helps to break down some the pressure directed at women as the ‘home maker’ and the gender stereotypes that exist in society

Question 6

What is an ethical implication of the deabte

Answer 6

If mothers are to be primary caregivers, where in todays society a large proportion of the female population work, this could have implications for the cost of living

Question 7

What did Belksy suggest should be done about this

Answer 7

Policies should be introduced to disocurage parents from putting their children into day care for too long, including expansion of parental leave and tax policies to reduce the economic factors that encourage parents to leave their children in the care of other people

Question 8

Descrribe how much resaerch into developmental psychology is outdated

Answer 8

• Bowlby and Freuds theories are based on an old fashioned view of society where the mother ‘stays at home’
• Further more, gender bias occured where it was the view that females are ‘failed males’ might suggest that mothers are merely milk trucks and objects of desire for their children - this view is no longer accepted

Question 9

What is some evidence contracdicting the debate

Answer 9

Number of studies that would suggest that day care has benefits to a childs development

Question 10

How could day care be beneficial

Answer 10

Higher quality care is associated with later superior cogitive linguistic functioning according to Balsky

Question 11

What would this mean if this is true

Answer 11

• A good mothers role should be supplemented by high quality day care
• Only more affluent parents could afford this level of support for their child

Question 12

What were the methodical flaws in Rutters study

Answer 12

• Retrospective
• Some pps had to recall events from up to 12 years earlier
• This can lead to unreliability and social desirability biases

Question 13

How does the debate have scientific credibility

Answer 13

• Newer research is based on hormone measurments and brain scanning ( role of fathers and breastfeeding)
• These are not subject to the same social desirbaility bias and self-reported methodologies, this increases the reliability