AO1 - research into the role of the father

• Schaffer and Emerson

  • found that the majority of babies became attached to their mother first. Schaffer & Emerson also found that only 3% of babies attached to their father as their primary attachment figure. Additionally 27% of babies attached to both their mothers and the fathers as a joint-first attachment
• Grossman et al

  • carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of thier childrens attachments to other people. they found that the quality of fathers play with infants was related to the quality of adolecents attachments
• Distinction between mother and father parenting roles

  
  

  BIOLOGICAL

  • men = MORE testosterone
  • women = MORE oestrogen (makes more nurturing)
  • women = biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figure T4 men aren't

  SOCIAL (traditional)

  • men = go to work and be provider T4 men may feel like they shouldn't behave like women
  • women = expected to stay at home and be PCG + be more nurturing than men
• Field

  • filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers.
  • found that both primary caregiver mothers and primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies
  • than secondary caregiver fathers.
  • ADD fathers can fufil PCG role to the same quality as a mum = they're capable
  • social factors play a greater role than biological (Schaffer & Emerson)
• McCallum & Golombok

  • found that children from single mothers and lesbian parents don't grow up any differently from children in families with heterosexual couples who have a father figure
  • MEANING father not needed COS children don't grow up any differently
• Alpha-bias

  • assumption that there are massive differences
  • BETWEEN males and females