the role of the father Flashcards
(11 cards)
what did Schaffer and Emerson find about when babies become attached and who they become attached to?
Schaffer and Emerson found that the majority of babies became attached to their mother first (this happens around 7 months)
in only 3% of the cases, the father was the first sole object of attachment
in 27% of the cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother
when did most of the babies become attached to their fathers, how could the researchers tell?
in 75% of babies studied, an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months
this was indicated by the fact that the babies protested when their father walked away - a sign of attachment
what were the initial thoughts about Grossman’s longitudinal study?
What did this study research and find about how important father’s attachments are?
Grossman carried out a longitudinal study looking at parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens
this research found that quality attachment with the father was less important for adolescent attachment than the quality of attachment with the mother
therefore, fathers may be less important in long term emotional development
but what was found about Grossman’s longitudinal study - about attachment?
However, Grossman did find that the quality of father’s play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments
this suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment - one to do with play and stimulation - less to do with emotional care
what evidence is there to suggest that fathers can take on a different role?
what did Field do?
there is evidence to suggest that when fathers take on the role of being the main caregiver, they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers
Field filmed 4-month old babies and found that primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies that the secondary caregiver fathers.
these behaviour are related to interactional synchrony and the formation of emotional attachment (Isabella)
what behaviours are important in building a primary attachment with a baby?
what is the key to an attachment relationship?
smiling, imitating and holding babies (interactional synchrony) are behaviours that are importnant in building a primary (emotional) attachment with a baby
so research suggests that a father can be more ‘emotional’ attachment figure
the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
Limitation - confusion over research question
- what do some psychologists understand the role of the father to be?
some psychologists want to understand the role of the fathers as secondary figures. But others are more concerned with fathers as a primary figure
the former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. the latter found that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role
this means that psychologists cannot easily answer the simple question- what is the role of the father
Limitation - conflicting evidence from different methodologies
What did Grossman suggest about the role of fathers?
How has this been contradicted by McCallum and Golombok?
Grossman suggests that fathers have a distinct role in children’s development, involving play and stimulation
But McCallum and Golombok found that children without a father do not develop differently
this means the question of whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered
counterpoint
why might findings not be in conflict?
Counterpoint
findings may not be in conflict - fathers may typically take on particular roles in two parent heterosexual families .
other family structures adapt to not having fathers
this means that the findings may be clear after all - there may be a distinctive role for fathers when present, but families adapt to not having one
Strength - using findings as parenting advice
how might mothers feel?
what has research on flexibility done?
mothers may feel pressured to stay at home and fathers to focus on work. this may not be the best solution for all families
research on the flexibility of the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents
this means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced and parenting decisions made easier
extra
preconceptions about how fathers behave are created by discussions about mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behaviours
stereotypes - fathers are more playful may cause observer bias and lead to inaccurate observations
means that observational studies of fathers may lack validity and conclusions cannot be trusted
