The Role Of The Father

Question 1

AO1 Points

Answer 1

• traditionally fathers have played a minor role in child rearing however society has changed
• in terms of cultural expectations there continue to be sex stereotypes that affect male behaviours such as the thought of being the father as too sensitive
• historically fathers would go to work and were the breadwinners but now this is not always the case
• Schaffer and Emerson in 1964 did find that infants usually attach to their mothers a first around 7 months but then in the following weeks, infants had usually formed a secondary attachment to other family members including the fathers.
• at around 18 moths 75% of infants had formed an attachment to the father

Question 2

Name an evaluation point

Answer 2

There is supporting evidence of the role of the father. Grossman et al in 2002 conducted a longitudinal study by looking at parent behaviour and it’s relationship to the quality of their baby’s later attachment. It was found that the quality of the baby’s attachment with the mother was linked to children’s attachment in adolescence which suggests that father attachments are less importantly however, it also found that the quality of father’s play with their babies was related to the quality of adolescent’s attachment. This suggests that the role of the father has more to do with play and stimulation rather than maturing and emotional development. They do have a distinctive role

Question 3

Name an evaluation point

Answer 3

Field et al in 1978 observed face to face interactions between infants and primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers. It was found that primary caregiver fathers like mothers spent more time hugging, holding and smiling and imitating than secondary caregiver fathers. They displayed interactional synchrony and reciprocity which is indicative that the father can be nurturing. This shows that fathers can just like mothers forma primary caregiver role, highlighting that they do have a distinctive role in attachment

Question 4

Name an evaluation point

Answer 4

One limitation of the role of the father is that there is conflicting researched. Some research is concerned with the role of the father as a secondary attachment figure whilst others as a primary attachment figure. Some research argues that the father can act as a primary caregiver and others find the father in a distinctive role as a secondary career. This makes it difficult to reach a definitive conclusion about the role of the father

Question 5

Name an evaluation point

Answer 5

One strength of research into the role of the father is that it has real world application. It could be used to offer advice to parents I.e agonising decisions over roles can cause a lot of pressure and confusion, to the point where parents may question whether or not to have a child at all. Research can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents, for example, fathers have the capacity to become a primary attachment figure and not having a child doesn’t affect their development.