Role Of The Father

Question 1

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Answer 1

• They showed that that primary attachment is more likely to be the mother than the father, with fathers more likely being the secondary attachment
• Fathers are only primary attachment in around 3% of babies

Question 2

Grossman (2002)

Answer 2

• He carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents’ behaviour and it’s relationship to the quality of children’s attachment into their teens
• He found that quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to children’s attachment in adolescences, suggesting that father’s attachment are less important
• However, the quality of the father’s play with infants was related to the quality of adolescence attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment- one that is more to do with play and stimulation rather than nurturing