The Role Of The Father

Question 1

What does evidence suggest about fathers and babies first attachment figures?

Answer 1

Evidence suggests that fathers are much less likely to become babies first attachment figures compared to mothers.

Question 2

What did Schaffer and Emerson find out about the majority of babies first attachments?

Answer 2

The majority of babies become attached to their mother at around 7 months and in only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment and in 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother.

Question 3

What does it appear that most fathers become?

Answer 3

An important attachment figure.

Question 4

How many babies Schaffer and Emerson studied formed an attachment with their father by 18 months?And how was this determined?

Answer 4

75%
Determined by the fact that babies protested when their father walked away.

Question 5

What did Grossman do?

Answer 5

A longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied until they became teens.

Question 6

What did researchers in Grossman’s study look at?

Answer 6

Both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their baby’s later attachments to other people.

Question 7

In Grossman’s study what was quality of a baby’s attachment with mothers related to? what does this suggest?

Answer 7

Attachments in adolescence which suggests attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers.

Question 8

What did Grossman et al find about the quality of fathers play?

Answer 8

The quality of fathers play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments which suggests fathers have a different role than mothers which is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional development.

Question 9

What does a babies relationship with their primary attachment figure form?

Answer 9

The basis of all later close emotional relationships.

Question 10

What is there evidence to suggest when fathers do take on the role of primary attachment figure?

Answer 10

When fathers take on the role of primary attachment figure they can adopt the emotional role which is typically associated with mothers.

Question 11

What did Fields study show?

Answer 11

That primary caregiver fathers like primary caregiver mothers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers.

Question 12

What did primary caregiver fathers spend more time doing?

Answer 12

Smiling, imitating and holding babies which are all part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony.

Question 13

What can fathers provide?

Answer 13

Responsiveness which is required for a close emotional attachment.

Question 14

Evaluation:
Inconsistent findings on fathers

Answer 14

• Some researchers are interested in fathers as secondary caregivers whereas some are interested in fathers as primary caregivers.
• Researchers who look at fathers as secondary caregivers see them behaving differently from mothers whereas researchers looking at fathers as primary caregivers see fathers taking on a more ‘maternal’ role.
• Therefore the findings on fathers differ depending on how the researcher wants to look at the father’s role.

Question 15

Evaluation:
Children without fathers

Answer 15

• Grossman found that fathers as a secondary attachment figure had an important role in child’s development.
• MaCallum and Golombook found children in same sex-parent households dont develop differently from those in two-parent-heterosexual families.
• This suggests the father’s role as a secondary attachment figure isn’t important.

Question 16

Evaluation:
Socially sensitive research

Answer 16

• Rseaerch in this area suggests children may be disadvantaged by certain child rearing practices.
• Isabella et al showed this to be more important in developing infant caregiver attachment.
• This suggests mothers shouldn’t return to work so soon and has socially sensitive implications.

Question 17

Evaluation:
Bias in this research

Answer 17

• Preconceptions about how fathers do or should behave can be created by stereotypical accounts and images of parenting roles and behaviour e.g. those used in advertising.
• These stereotypes may cause unintentional observer bias whereby observers see what they expect rather than recording objective reality.