Role of the father in attachments

Question 1

Which parent is less likely to be the babies first attachment?

Answer 1

Fathers

Question 2

What evidence shows that fathers are less likely to become babies first attachment figure?

Answer 2

Schaffer and Emerson (1960)

Question 3

What age do babies become attached to mothers according to Schaffer and Emerson (1960) study?

Answer 3

Babies become attached to mothers at 7 months by 18 months 75% of infants were attached to fathers.

Question 4

How many cases did Schaffer and Emerson (1960) find where the father was the first attachment figure?

Answer 4

0.03

Question 5

How many cases did Schaffer and Emerson (1960) find where the father and mother were both jointly attached to the infant?

Answer 5

0.27

Question 6

By what age did Schaffer and Emerson (1960) find that 75% of infants were attached to the father?

Answer 6

18 months

Question 7

What type of study was Grossman et al (2002)?

Answer 7

Longitudinal study

Question 8

What was studied in Grossman et al (2002)?

Answer 8

Babies attachments were studied until their teens

Question 9

Grossman et al (2002)

Answer 9

Quality of babies attachments with mothers (not fathers) related to attachments in adolescence showing fatherly attachments less important. But quality of fathers play related to adolescence attachments. Fathers have a different role.

Question 10

Field (1978)

Answer 10

Filmed 4-month old babies in face-to-face interactions with:
- Primary caregiver mums
- Secondary caregiver fathers
- Primary caregiver fathers

Question 11

What was found in Field’s (1978) research?

Answer 11

The primary caregiver fathers’s, like mothers’s, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers. This shows that it’s not about gender but being responsive. Fathers can be primary caregivers

Question 12

Strengths of the role of the fathers research

Answer 12

it has real world applications and can advise parents for example about staying at home as it shows fathers can be equally as competent

Question 13

Weaknesses of roles of the fathers research

Answer 13

• Confusion over research questions so difficult to find out the role of the father
• What about children who have no father, (MacCallum and Golombok 2004)
• Why don’t fathers become primary attachment, gender roles or hormones, purely economic-bowlby?

Question 14

MacCallum and Golombok (2004)

Answer 14

Found children from same sex and single parent families were no different from other children - suggests that father role isn’t important.