Attachment - Attachment Figures

Question 1

What did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) find ?

Answer 1

The majority of babies did became attached to their mother first (around 7 months)

But within few weeks or months formed secondary attachment to other family members like fathers)

Question 2

What age did did 75% of infants form attachment with father

Answer 2

18 months

Question 3

How was attachment to father determined

Answer 3

Infants protested when their father walked away - sign of attachment

Question 4

What kind of study was grossman (2002)

Answer 4

A longitudinal study

Question 5

What did grossmans study look at

Answer 5

Both parents behaviour and its relation ship to quality of children’s attachment into their teens

Question 6

What did grossman find in his study

Answer 6

Quality of in a infant attachment with mother not father - related to children’s attachment in adolescence

Quality of fathers play with infants - related to to quality of children’s attachment in adolescence

Question 7

What did grossmans findings suggest

Answer 7

Fathers have different role in attachment to do with play and stimulation rather than nurturing

Question 8

What did field 1978 do in his research

Answer 8

Filmed 4 month old babies 
face to face interaction 
With primary caregiver mother 
Primary caregiver Fathers 
Secondary caregiver fathers

Question 9

What did field find from his study

Answer 9

Primary care giver fathers -
More time spent smiling, holding and imitating infants than secondary father caregivers
Like primary mothers
This behaviour important in attachment

Question 10

What did fields study suggest ?

Answer 10

Fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure

But key to attachment is responsiveness not gender

Question 11

What is a limitation of research into role of fathers

Inconstant finings

Answer 11

Inconsistent findings on fathers
This is because different researchers interested in different things

Some interested in role fathers have as secondary attachment figure whilst other concerned with role as primary AF.
Both show different results

Fathers can behave differently but some say they can take maternal role

Question of what is the role of father can’t be correctly answered

Question 12

What is another limitation of role of fathers (not as important)

Answer 12

Fathers role as secondary attachment may not be as important

Eg grossman found fathers had important role in child’s development.
Other studies found children growing in single or same-sex parents families do not develop any different from those in two parent heterosexual families.

Suggests secondary attachment fathers do not have a distinct role as previously thought.

Question 13

What are two reasons why fathers may not become primary attachment figures

Answer 13

• result of traditional gender roles in which women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men.
• female hormones such as oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing
  Women biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figure

Question 14

What is a limitation of research into mother - infant interaction ?(socially sensitive)

Answer 14

Research is socially sensitive
Suggest that children disadvantaged particular child rearing practices.
For example mothers who return to work shortly after child is born restricts achievement of interactional synchrony
This could suggest mothers should not return to work too soon.

Some research still shows that there is plenty of time for such interactions after working hours