Role of the father

• What are the three potential roles of the father?

  There is disagreement about the role of the father in attachment. 

  Some say:

  not important

  different role/playmate

  equally as important
• Outline the idea that the role of fathers are unimportant?

  Some psychologists would suggest that their role is not important and that biological differences between men and women mean that women are more suited to the primary caregiving role e.g. the release of oxytocin after birth helps mothers create a primary attachment to their baby. Grossman (2000) found the quality of attachment with the mother was important when examining adolescent attachments, but the quality of the fathers was not. 
• outline the idea that fathers have a different role to mothers?

  Other research suggests that fathers may have a different role to the mother. Schaffer & Emerson (1964) found that 75% of babies have attached to their fathers by the age of 18 months, becoming an important secondary attachment to the mother. Additionally, Grossman et al. (2002) found that the quality of father’s play with their babies was linked to the quality of attachment in adolescence, suggesting a play role rather than an emotional role. 
• outline the idea that the role of the father is just as important/ the same as mother?

  However, some research suggests that fathers can actually take the role of the primary caregiver. Field (1978) filmed reactions of infants to fathers and found that primary caregiving fathers spent more time interacting, smiling, imitating and holding infants, similar to mothers.
• what are the strengths of the role of the father?

  A strength of the research by Field is that it has RWA. Parents can be reassured that fathers can be effective primary caregivers if the mother wants to work and so this prevents the stereotype of each sex being suited to one role only. Mothers will feel less anxious and pressured about returning to work and this will have implications for the economy. Additionally, fathers can be assured that they can effectively play the role of primary caregiver if they wish to do so. Therefore, this research has important implications for society.
• outline the weaknesses for research not role of the father?

  Some of the theories are socially sensitive

  lack of clarity
• elaborate on socially sensitive research as a weakness of role of the father?

  Some research suggests that a father has an important secondary role, such as a play role. This suggests that single mothers or lesbian couples would not be able to fulfil this role. However, MacCullum & Golombok (2004) found children in single mother or lesbian parent families do not develop any differently to children of two opposite sex parents. However, it could be that in single/lesbian parent families the mother/s take on both roles when required to do so and so adapt to their being no father figure.
• elaborate on lack of clarity as a weakness for the role of the father?

  Another weakness of the research into the role of the father is that it is conflicting and lacks clarity. Some researchers examine fathers as a primary figure and some as secondary. Meaning we cannot simply answer ‘what is the role of the father?’ This undermines the value and validity of any research into the fathers’ role and so limits its generalisability to father figures as a whole. We cannot answer the question ‘what is the role of the father?’ at this time.