Role Of The Father Flashcards
Outline the significance of fathers in attachment today.
traditionally fathers only have a minor role in parenting.
in the past, married couples have ‘expected roles’ but the norm today is that mothers usually have jobs.
therefore, fathers have a bigger role in parenting than before.
Describe early research into mother-infant interaction.
bowlby suggested that there is one primary caregiver which is usually the mother.
this is because babies perceive mothers as being more nurturing as they recognise and respond to needs more.
therefore, early research suggested that fathers were less of a caregiver and more of a playmate.
Outline research findings that show babies attachment to fathers - Schaffer and Emerson (1964).
schaffer and emerson (1964) found that the majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months and in only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment.
however, it appears that most fathers go on to become important attachment figures.
75% of the babies studied by schaffer and emerson formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months.
this was determined by the fact that the babies protested when their father walked away - a sign of attachment.
Outline the procedure of research by Grossmann (2002) into the role of the father.
grossmann (2002) carried out a longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied until they were into their teens.
the researchers looked at both parents behaviour and their relationship to the quality of their babies later attachments to other people.
Outline the findings of the research by Grossmann (2002) into the role of the father.
the quality of a babies attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachments in adolescence.
this suggests that attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers.
HOWEVER-
grossmann also found that the quality of fathers play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments.
this suggests that fathers have a different role from mothers - one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with emotional development.
Outline the theory of fathers as primary attachment figures.
a babies relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships.
there is some evidence to suggest that when fathers do take on the role of primary caregiver they are able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers.
Outline the procedure of the research by Field (1978) into fathers as primary attachment figures.
filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers.
primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the secondary caregiver fathers.
Outline the findings of the research by Field (1978) into fathers as primary attachment figures.
this behaviour appears to be more important in building attachment with the infant.
fathers have the potential to be the more emotion focused and nurturing primary attachment figure - they can provide the responsiveness required for a close emotional attachment but perhaps only express this when given the role of primary caregiver.
therefore, attachment does not depend on the gender but rather the responsiveness.
Outline importance of the father in future relationships as a strength of role of the father.
evidence suggests that on the whole children with secure attachments to their fathers go on to have better relationships with peers, less behaviour problems and more able to regulate their emotions.
therefore this supports the idea of the importance of the role of the father.
Outline importance of the father in child development as a strength of role of the father.
children who grow up without fathers tend to do less well in school and have higher levels of risk taking and aggression (especially boys).
Suggests the importance of the role of the father.
Discuss confusion over research questions as a limitation of the research into role of the father.
lack of clarity over the question being asked ‘what is the role of the father’.
some researchers attempting to answer this question actually want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures but others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure.
the former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. the latter have found that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role.
this makes it difficult to offer a simple answer as to the role of the father.
Discuss findings varying according to methodology used as a limitaion of research info role of the father.
longitudinal studies (grossmann) suggest fathers have an important and distinct role in their childrens development.
however, if fathers have a distinctive and important role we would expect that children growing up in single mother and lesbian parent families would turn out in some way different from those in two parent heterosexual families.
in fact, studies consistently show that these children do not develop differently from children in two parent heterosexual families.
this means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.
HOWEVER -
These lines of research may not be in conflict.
It could be that fathers typically take on distinctive roles in two parent heterosexual families, and parents in single mother and lesbian parent families simply adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers.
this means that the question of a distinctive role for fathers is clear after all - when present, fathers tend to adopt a distinctive role, but families can adapt to not having a father.
Outline importance of the father to the mother as a strength of role of the father.
Fathers are not just important to children but to mothers too.
They provide much needed time away from childcare. They help reduce stress, and increase self esteem of the mother which ultimately affect her relationship with her children.
When fathers spend more time with their children they develop more secure attachments which suggests the amount of interaction is important.
HOWEVER -
there are significant individual difference effects as to how important the relationship is, generally the more positive attachments a child has the better, but individual differences in how fathers, and children respond will always vary.
Outline practical application as a strength of research into role of the father.
research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents.
for example heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quite capable of becoming primary attachment figures.
also lesbian parent and single mother families can be informed that not having a father around does not affect a childs development.
this means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced.
