multiple attachments and role of the father

Question 1

what did schaffer and emerson find in regards to the father

Answer 1

• 75% of infants formed a secondary attachement to their father by 18 months
• 29% doing so within a month of forming a primary attachment
• shown through separation anxiety
• suggests father is important but unlikely to be first attachment

Question 2

what biological factors are their for role of the father

Answer 2

• oestrogen is responsible for caring qualities, suggests that fathers are biologically unable/less able to be a caring figure// mothers are the caregivers
• oxytocin produces feelings of love and is released after birth and during breastfeeding, suggests that mothers are able to love and form more of a connection with their babies that fathers

Question 3

what social factors are their for role of the father

Answer 3

• old social norms meant mothers stayed at home to take care of the children, suggesting that a fathers role is not to be a caregiver or at least not a primary caregiver
• there are still some expectations around the mother being the primary caregiver

Question 4

what do bowlby and rutter say about attachments

Answer 4

• bowlby = one prime attachment (monotropy), although attachments to other people these were of minor importance compared to main attachment
• rutter = proposed model of multiple attachments that sees all attachments as of equal importance, with all of these coming together to form the internal working model

Question 5

what factors affect the relationship between fathers and children

Answer 5

• degree of sensitivity
• type of attachment with own parents
• marital intimacy
• supportive co-parenting

Question 6

supporting research for role of the father

Answer 6

• Geiger = evidence of dad as playmate, dads play interactions were more exciting, whereas mums were more nurturing - supports dad as playmate and mum as caring role
• Hardy = argues dads don’t provide a sensitive attachment, dads less able to detect low levels of distress in comparison to mum - supports bio explanations (biological determinism)

Question 7

outline/AO1 construction of role of the father

Answer 7

• traditional roles
• role has changed recently
• psychologists generally disagree over exact role
• some argue biological
• some argue role is playmate
• some argue that father is capable of showing sensitive responsiveness and can actually form quite string attachment bonds

Question 8

challenging research for role of the father

Answer 8

• Belsky = dads who report higher levels of marital intimacy also display secure father-infant attachments but this wasn’t the same in lower intimacy marriages, suggests dads CAN form secure attachments but depends on strength of parents relationship
  
  • bio determinism BUT can be mediated by environment