Role of the Father Flashcards
What did Bowlby believe about the role of the father?
Bowlby believe the father played a minor role in the parenting of their children.
What does Bowlby say about the attachment figures children have ?
Bowlby says children have one attachment figure, which is usually the mother
Historically, what family type would raise children? What did each individual do involving the childcare?
Historically, children would be raise by married couples. The fathers would work and the mothers would take care of the children
What would some researchers argue about the role of fathers? (biological explanation)
Some researchers would argue that fathers are not equipped to form attachments both psychologically and socially. This is because the lack of oestrogen in men means that fathers are not biologically equipped to form close bonds with children
What was the name of psychologist who carried out the study on the quality of attachments with mothers and fathers? What year did he conduct this study?
Grossman in 2002
Outline the study by Grossman on the quality of attachments with mothers and fathers, include the findings
Grossman carried out a longitudinal study into the quality of attachments with mothers and fathers.
He found that attachments with mothers were more important for the development of attachments later on in adolescence, suggesting that father attachments were less important
It was also found that fathers have a more important/different role to do with play + stimulation and less to do with nurturing
What is a limitation of the research into the role of the father?
The role of the father is low in concurrent validity. It is outdated because there has been an increase in working women, which has been changed this view. Many men bow play a much bigger role now in their children’s development. The change in the dynamics between men and women has led to men being placed in more nurturing positions. Fathers can now be seen staying at home to care and feed their children
What is a strength of the research into the role of the father? (family types)
Some studies have found that children growing up in single or same sex parent families do not develop differently from those in two - parent families. This reinforces Bowlby’s view that fathers play a minor, almost unimportant role, in the parenting of their children
What is a limitation of the research into the role of the father? (
Field (1978) observed 4 month old babies interacting with their primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers. It was found that fathers who were primary caregivers displayed similar behaviours to primary caregiver mothers. They displayed traits that were important for the development of an attachment with an infant. This suggests that men can be the nurturing attachment figure if needed. The key to the attachment relationship is the level of sensitive responsives, not the gender of the parent
