Discuss research into the role of the father

• Discuss research into the role of the father - AO1 (6 marks)

  Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Primary attachment usually with the mother, 27% of cases, and 3% the father only. In 75 % of infants, an attachment was formed a secondary attachment with the father by 18 months. 
• Discuss research into the role of the father - AO1 (6 marks)


  Field et al (1978) key to the primary attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent. Primary caregiver fathers show behaviours typical of primary caregiver mothers.
• Discuss research into the role of the father - AO1 (6 marks)


  Grossman (2002) A longitudinal study of 44 families, used strange situation and questionnaire to asses attachment to fathers. The quality of fathers’ play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachment. 
• AO3 - Different research questions


  E:  looked at the quality of play, sensitive responsiveness and secondary attachments, all separate concepts in attachment. 

  E:  Results of each of these studies should therefore not be compared or put together as all used different methods and had different experiments, produce different result about the role of the father.

  L: Role of the father not clear, as no conventional role is shown. 

  CA:  Show that the actual role of the father is varied and that there is variation the father forms attachments with the child, more holistic. 
• AO3 -Research has economic implications.


  E:  Research shows that the gender of the parent is not important and that primary caregiver fathers show behaviours typical of primary caregiver mothers.

  E:  Therefore, can encourage women to go back to work instead of feeling pressured to stay at home. So, more mothers entering the workforce. And further influences laws on shared parental leave. 

  L:  Therefore, has positive economic implications for allowing both parents to be able to go back to work and take time off work for parental leave. Helping to close the gender pay gap. 
• AO3 -Research lacks temporal validity.


  E: Schaffer and Emmerson’s research into primary attachment was conducted in 1964 when most mothers stayed at home and fathers worked. 

  E:  Therefore does not match the dynamics of modern family’s were many fathers stay at home so are more likely to become a child primary attachment figure. Since the role of the father has changed over time. 

  L: Therefore results from this study cannot be generalised to the modern population. 
• AO3 - Social bias prevents objectivity in studies


  E:  Social stereotypes lead to preconceptions about how a father parents. Are more playful. 

  E:  May cause unintentional observer bias so may not record what they actually see. L:  Reduces the internal validity of the results and so makes the role of the father difficult to establish.