the role of the father

Question 1

societal norms and biological factors into the role of the father

Answer 1

you can discuss what society expects of men, how it was only recently that paternity leave was introduced so it put the focus on the mother on being the primary caregiver
also the biological differences in men and woman eg woman have higher oestrogen levels which are correlated with nuturing behaviours whilst men have higher levels of testosterone

Question 2

what does schaffer and emersons study have to do in relation to the role of the fatjer

Answer 2

Schaffer & Emerson (1964) showed that babies first
attach to mothers around 7 months.

3% of cases father was first attachment

27% of cases father was joint first.

By 18 months 75% of the babies studied had formed
attachment with their fathers.

Question 3

what is the role of the father and which research discovered this?

Answer 3

Grossman et al (2002) longitudinal study babies attachments studied up to adolescence. Quality of
attachment to mother related to attachment in adolescence therefore father attachment less
important.

BUT

Also found quality of fathers play with babies related to quality of attachments in adolescence. Therefore father
have different role to mothers

Question 4

quality of play

Answer 4

Geiger (1996) found in their observations that play
interactions with the father were more exciting and
focused on fun and playing - mothers were more
affectionate / caring / nurturing e.g. bath
therefore reinforcing the idea that mothers and fathers have different roles

Question 5

the importance of Tiffany field study (1978) and findings (positive evaluation)

Answer 5

Tiffany Field’s 1978 study is important because it demonstrated that fathers who are primary caregivers exhibit similar behaviors to mothers, particularly in terms of emotional responsiveness and attachment, suggesting that the gender of the caregiver is less crucial than the quality of their interaction with the child.
this study challenges stereotypes and can help alleviate the stress of new single fathers worried about their gender and the influence that may have to their child

Question 6

what did Tiffany field (1978) study

Answer 6

there was 3 groups which she observed
- infants with their primary care giver mother
- infants with their primary care giver father
- infants with their secondary caregiver fathers
she found that PRIMARY care giver fathers
and mothers were engaged in significantly more smiling , high pitched vocalisations and imitative facial expressions than secondary care giver fathers
- Father engaged in significantly more game playing & less
holding of their infants.

Question 7

evaluate the role of the father

Answer 7

• The fathers role as a secondary
  attachment figure is perhaps not
  important (e.g. single parent
  families)
  the quality of attachment may be less signficant in infants adolesence as mothers were instead it was the quality of play
  there are inconsistent findings on fathers (1) POINT: A weakness of research into attachment figures is that there are inconsistent findings as to the role of the father in attachments. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: For example, research into the role of the father in attachment is confusing because different researchers are interested in different research questions. Some researchers are interested in understanding the role fathers have as secondary attachment figures, whereas others are more concerned with the father’s role as a primary attachment figure. The former have tended to see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have tended to find that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role. EVALUATION: This is a problem because it means psychologists cannot easily answer the questions ‘what is the role of the father?’ The findings from research being inconsistent means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn.

Question 8

positive research support for the role of the father

Answer 8

Gordon et al
both parents levels of oxytocin was recorded after a set amount of play time with their child
they found that the level of oxytocin in the mothers matched the levels in the father which illustatrate that the father can biologically adapted to take on the roles of nuture that the mother usually has