Attachment: Role Of The Father- KR 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 this topic stem from and what findings?
Stages of attachment- after 7 months babies from secondary attachments to 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?
they had quality of attachment 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 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 apps
Why does research into the role of the father have practical apps?
the findings can be used to advise future parents
How can fields research be used for helping parents?
It can be used to advise parents that its the level of responsiveness not gender that matters in attachment so mothers don’t feel pressured to stay at home
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)
