Attachment: Role Of The Father UPDATED 24/25

Question 1

What is meant by the role of the father in attachment?

Answer 1

the fathers role/ job in raising an infant

Question 2

Who conducted research into the role of the father?

Answer 2

Grossman and Field

Question 3

Where does this topic stem from and what findings?

Answer 3

Stages of attachment- after 7 months babies from secondary attachments to fathers

Question 4

What was Grossmans aim?

Answer 4

To investigate the relationship of both parents with the infant and the quality of the child’s attachment into their teens

Question 5

How did Grossman investigate his aim?

Answer 5

he used a longitudinal study

Question 6

What is a longitudinal study?

Answer 6

A study on a sample over a long period of time i.e. months/years

Question 7

What type of study is conducted on a sample over a long period of time i.e. months/years?

Answer 7

Longitudinal

Question 8

What was Grossmans first finding?

Answer 8

the quality of infants’ attachment with their mothers, but not their fathers, was related to the children’s attachment in adolescence.

Question 9

What conclusions an be made about Grossmans first finding?

Answer 9

the fathers role is less important than the mothers.

Question 10

What was the second finding from Grossmans research?

Answer 10

that the quality of fathers play with infants is related to the children’s adolescent attachments

Question 11

What conclusions can be made about Grossmans second finding?

Answer 11

Fathers have a DIFFERENT role in attachment, one to do with play and stimulation and less to do with nurture, but one still important for the child’s wellbeing.

Question 12

Summarise Grossmans conclusions

Answer 12

Fathers may be considered less important in relation to nurturing the child, but have a role in play and stimulation that still contributes to the child’s development.

Question 13

What method did Field use to investigate role of the father?

Answer 13

Controlled observation

Question 14

What is a controlled observation?

Answer 14

Observing behaviour in an artificial environment where the researcher has manipulated the conditions.

Question 15

What was the procedure of Fields research into the role of the father?

Answer 15

he filmed 4 month old infants in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers

Question 16

Who did Field film to investigate the role of the father

Answer 16

he filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers

Question 17

What did Field observe/find during the observation?

Answer 17

That the primary caregiver fathers, like mothers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding the infants than the secondary caregiver fathers.

Question 18

What was the main finding from Fields research?

Answer 18

Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, they spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers.

Question 19

What is the main conclusion from Fields research?

Answer 19

Fathers can be the nurturing attachment figure and take on the traditional maternal role.

Question 20

What does Fields research tell us about the role of the father?

Answer 20

That the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

Question 21

AO3 - What is a strength of research into the role of the father?

Answer 21

It can be used in the real world - therefore has practical applications

Question 22

AO3 - How does Field’s research into role of the father have practical applications?

Answer 22

This is because the findings of fields research that responsiveness to the child’s needs not gender is most important when forming attachments has been used to change policies.

Question 23

AO3 - How has Field’s research into role of the father been used to change policies in the real world?

Answer 23

It has been used to change policies such as Shared Parental Leave (2014) which allows mothers and fathers to share leave from work to care for their child within the first year of an infants life.

Question 24

AO3 - How is the policy of shared parental leave useful for families in the real world?

Answer 24

This is useful in families where the father wants to take on the role of the primary caregiver and the mother wants to return to work.

Question 25

AO3 - Therefore, if we have practical applications what does that mean for the research into role of the father (HINT - what would the link be on a PEEL paragraph?)

Answer 25

Therefore, research into role of the father is an important part of applied psychology as it has been used to help families in the real world and in turn raises the credibility of research investigating role of the father.

Question 26

AO3 - How can Grossman’s research into role of the father be criticised by other research conducted in the area?

Answer 26

Grossman’s research can be criticised for the idea that fathers have a distinct role in play and stimulation, and that this is the role of the FATHER (male).

Question 27

AO3 - What research has been conducted which contradicts Grossman’s findings of the father having a distinct role of play and stimulation? And what was found?

Answer 27

Other research has shown that children growing up in single mother or lesbian-parent families do not develop any differently than those in a two parent heterosexual family. This suggests that the father’s role of play and stimulation may not be solely related to the gender of the attachment figure.

Question 28

AO3 (counter argument) - What could be argued about Macallum and Golombok (2004) findings that may actually reinstate the father’s role being distinctive?

Answer 28

It could be argued that parents in single-mother or lesbian parent families simply ADAPT to accommodate the role played by fathers. Suggesting that when a father IS present, they do adopt a distinctive role.

Question 29

AO3 - What kind of approach could be used to support Grossman’s findings that fathers adopt a secondary caregiver role?

Answer 29

Biological approach

Question 30

AO3 - How might a biological approach support Grossman’s findings that fathers have a secondary role in attachment?

Answer 30

It could be argued that female hormones like oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing behaviours in women and therefore they are biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure for children.
Whereas, males do not produce as much oestrogen and produce more testosterone, which is not linked to care and nurture.