Attachment: Role Of The Father Flashcards
What is meant by the role of the father in attachment?
the fathers role/ job in raising an infant
Who conducted research into the role of the father?
Grossman and Field
Where does the role of the father stem from and what findings?
Schaffer and Emersons stages of attachment research - after 7 months babies from secondary/multiple attachments to other family members, including fathers
What was Grossmans aim?
To investigate the relationship of both parents with the infant and the quality of the child’s attachment into their teens
How did Grossman investigate his aim?
he used a longitudinal study
What is a longitudinal study?
A study on a sample over a long period of time i.e. months/years
What type of study is conducted on a sample over a long period of time i.e. months/years?
Longitudinal
What was Grossmans first finding?
the quality of infants attachment was with the mothers and the fathers was related to the children’s attachment in adolescence
What did Grossman find about the attachment to mother?
the quality of attachment was with mother
What did Grossman first find about the attachment to fathers?
the quality of attachment was related to the children’s’ attachment in adolescence
What conclusions an be made about Grossmans first finding?
that the fathers attachment is less important
What was the first conclusion Grossman made about the fathers attachment in comparison to mother?
that the father is less important than the mothers
What was the second finding from Grossmans research?
that the quality of fathers play with infants is related to the quality of children’s adolescent attachments
What did Grossman find the quality of the fathers attachment was related to?
children’s adolescent attachments
What conclusions can be made about Grossmans second finding?
that fathers attachment is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with nurture
Summarise Grossmans conclusions
Fathers are important for play and stimulation where as mothers play a nurturing role
How did Field investigate the role of the father in attachment?
Controlled observation
What is a controlled observation?
Observing behaviour in an artificial environment where the researcher has manipulated the conditions.
What was the procedure of Fields research into the role of the father?
he filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers
Who did Field film to investigate the role of the father
he filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers
What did Field find when he filmed the primary caregivers fathers?
they spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers
What was the main finding from Fields research?
Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, they spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers
What is the main conclusion from Fields research?
fathers can be more nurturing and can take on a traditionally maternal role
What does Fields research tell us about the role of the father?
fathers can be more nurturing and can take on a traditionally maternal role. its about the level of responsiveness not gender
Summarise Fields research
attachments is due to the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
What is a strength of research into the role of the father?
practical applications
Why did Fields research into the role of the father find ?
responsiveness to the childs needs, not gender is most important when forming attachments
How does fields research have practical applications?
change policies - shared parental leave
Which father is supporting Fields research and why?
Mikhail- he is being the nurturing parent by making the evening meal
Hint: what is a strength to research into the role of the father?
Field: mothers can go back to work if they are high earners
Grossman: emphasis on mothers role in attachment (maternity leave)
Who contradicts Grossman’s research into the role of the father and what did they find?
Macallum and Golombok found that children growing up in single-mother or lesbian parent families do not develop differently from those in two parent heterosexual families.
What could the basis of attachment be that supports Grossman’s findings that the father adopts a secondary caregiver role?
Biological
What biological factor makes females biologically predisposed to be the primary caregiver for children and why?
females have higher levels of oestrogen (hormones) making them a more nurturing caregiver.
What biological factor do males have that isn’t associated with care and nurturing?
They produce more testosterone which suggests the fathers role is less important.
