role of the father

Question 1

father

Answer 1

anyone who takes on the role of the main male caregiver but it isn’t always the biological father

Question 2

Schaffer & Emerson (1964)

Answer 2

• majority of babies became attached to their mother first at about 7 months
• only 3% attach to their father 1st

-in 75% of infants, an attachment with the father was found at 18 months old and displayed separation anxiety
Grossman et al (2000) - did a longitudinal study which looked at both parent’s behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments in the teens

Question 3

Grossman et al (2000)

Answer 3

• did a longitudinal study which looked at both parent’s behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments in the teens

Question 4

Grossman et al (2000): findings

Answer 4

• that quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to children’s attachments in adolescence
• suggests father attachment was less important
• the quality of the father’s play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments
• suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment more to do with play and stimulation

Question 5

Field (1978): procedure

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Field (1978) :findings

Answer 6

• primary caregiver fathers spend more time smiling, initiating and holding hands than secondary caregiver fathers
• this appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant
• seems that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure when they take on the role of primary caregiver
• key to attachment is the level of responsiveness and not gender

Question 7

Heteronormativity

Answer 7

no research that suggests that having a single-parent or 2 same-sex parents has any impact on children’s development

Question 8

AO3 - bias in the research

Answer 8

• preconceptions about how fathers should behave have be created by media and stereotypes
• stereotypes may cause unintentional observer bias
• eg = stereotype may be that fathers are stricter and may mean that observers see what they expect to see rather than recording objectivity

Question 9

AO3 - confusion over research questions

Answer 9

• lack of clarity over the question ‘What is the role of the father’ are they the primary or secondary caregiver
• fathers as primary caregiver research suggests they take on a maternal role
• fathers as secondary caregiver research suggests they behave differently to mothers and have a distinct role (play & stimulation)

Question 10

AO3 - conflicting evidence

Answer 10

• findings vary due to the methodology used so if fathers have a distinct role
• why aren’t children without fathers different
• studies like the Grossman one found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important role (provide play & and stimulation)
• McCallum & Golombok (2004) = found that children in single-parent or same-sex parent families don’t develop any differently
• means that the role of the father may not be as distinctive as thought

Question 11

AO3 - real-world application

Answer 11

• advice can be offered to parents like
• mothers may feel pressured to stay at home and fathers may feel pressured to go to work due to stereotypes
• heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are capable of being primary attachment figure
• same-sex female parents and single mothers can be informed that not having a father around doesn’t affect development
• these can reduce parental anxiety