Attachment- role of the father Flashcards
In most attachment research who is assumed to be the primary caregiver?
The mother
Does the father play an important role in devolpment of attachment in infants? Give some examples of father figuires
-Yes
-Does not have to be the biological father
-could be a stepfather, adoptive father or even uncle or older brother (who may act as father figures)
What research suggests that the father is not the main attachment figure? Explain why
-Schaffer and emmerson
-In the UK, when S+E conducted their research (1964), the father spent less time with the infant/ child due to being the main earner in the family as it was normalised for the mother to stay at home and care for the children and put her career on hold
Link Schaffer and Emerson’s findings to the role of the father
-found that the father was the primary attachment figure in only 3% of families
-By 18 months of age, 75% of infants had formed an attachment to their father
What does biological evidence suggest about the father and why he is not usually the primary caregiver?
-that men are less receptive and sensitive to the needs of an infant
What are the biological differences, and how do they link to the father’s role?
-Differences in the hormone Oestrogen (women have more), which contributes to more nurturing behaviour
-Oestrogen modifies neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for cognitive and emotional processes
-This means that women may be more naturally emotionally sensitive than men, although this is a socially sensitive issue surrounding gender
What did Fields’ research conclude?
When fathers take on the role of the primary attachment figure, they adopt more nurturing and sensitive behaviour
What was the procedure for Field’s research?
Filmed four-month-old babies interacting with:
-primary caregivers who were mothers
-primary caregivers who were fathers
-secondary caregivers who were fathers
What were Field’s findings?
-Primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, interacting with, and holding their babies compared to secondary caregiver fathers
-These behaviours are examples of reciprocity and interactional synchrony
Grossman- A longitudinal study into the attachment of infants through to their teenage years which involved studying both parents (mother and father) and their relationship with their child, and how this predicted future attachments in adolescence, what were the findings?
-The quality of the father’s play and stimulation with babies was related to the child’s quality of attachment in adolescence
What do the findings of the longitudinal study suggest?
-fathers may play a different role in attachment from that of the mother
Give an evaluation point-strength (real world application)
-Real world application for research into the role of the father
-can be used to help parents or prospective parents make decisions about who is to be the primary caregiver
-means that families can make informed decisions about which parent(s) returns to work following the birth of the child which has implications for society+ economy and practical applications
-For example Paternity/maternity leave,Paternity/maternity leave,Custody of children in the case of divorce,Role modelling parental skills in young men,More societal acceptance of the single father
-Useful in modern day life
Give an evaluation point for the role of the father
(playmate)
-Some studies have found that fathers tend to take on the role of the ‘fun playmate’ with mothers being more nurturing and affectionate
- characterized by exciting and stimulating interactions, contrasting with the mother’s more nurturing and affectionate approach
-which may be needed more in early life eg. feeding, comforting when upset which is why their attachment devolps first and they become the primary caregiver
-Exictemnt and active play will not be needed until later (as the child will not be phiscally able which is why thier attachment devolps second
-play can have a positive impact on a child’s social and emotional development, including the development of social skills and the ability to handle challenging situation (although it could be argued mothers perform this role anyway when fathers are absent)
-This suggests that differences may exist between mothers and fathers in the role of attachment development in infants and children
Give an evaluation point (family diversity)
-Grossman’s study into the role of the father does not take into account non-heterosexual partnerships
-If fathers play a key role in the development of attachments, then it would be expected that children from same-sex parents or single parents would develop differently from the children of heterosexual parents (which is unlikely)
-Another study found that children of single mothers and lesbian-parent families do not develop differently from those of two-parent heterosexual parents
-Useful as it shows combats some of the stigma
-Relevant to todays society as family diversity is very prevelant
-This suggests that the role of the father is not as important as other studies suggest
Give an evaluation point (nature- nurture)
-The role of fathers as secondary attachment figures can be explained through biological processes and gender stereotyping
-Reason fathers are generally not the primary attachment figuire could be due to gender stereotyping + traditional roles
-women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men
- On the other hand, it could be that females hormones (oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure
-Links to the nature-nurture debate
-strength as it confirms that such difference between mothers and fathers in the role of rearing children can be down to an individual’s nature but also their experiences of nurture.
