discuss the role of the father in attachment

Question 1

What did Schaffer and Emerson suggest about attachment with mother and father?

Answer 1

• Attachment with mother is formed at around 7months
• attachment with father is formed at around 18 months (75%)
  —-> suggests father as an important secondary caregiver

Question 2

What did field et el find?

Answer 2

He filmed 4 month old babies and found that babies spent more time smiling, imitating and holding hands with primary father caregivers than secondary nurturing ones
—> shows fathers can take a nurturing role on

Question 3

What biological influence influence fathers role?

Answer 3

-lower levels of oestrogen linked to nurturing qualities

Question 4

What else can influence the role of the father?

Answer 4

Cultural norms and expectations

Question 5

What real world applications does research into the role of the father have?

Answer 5

+ helps promote shared parental responsibility

Question 6

What’s the problem with their inconsistent findings?

Answer 6

Some studies look at the father as a primary caregiver. Some as secondary. It’s hard to draw conclusions on fathers role

Question 7

What did mccallum and golombok find about children who have grown up without a father in their life?

Answer 7

Children in same sex or single parent household develop no differently to children who grow up with a father

Question 8

What cultural/ temporal bias is there

Answer 8

Traditional views of fathers may reflect western outdated stereotypes attachment maybe socially constructed, not biologically fixed