role of father

• grossman - longitudinal study - quality of attachment with father wasnt related to attachment in adolescence - suggests father is less important
• however, quality of fathers play with infants - related to quality of adult attachments - suggests fathers have different roles in attachment - play and stimulation, less nurturing
• fathers as primary caregivers - adopt behaviours associated with mothers

  field - primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants like mothers, in comparison to secondary caregiver fathers - shows father can be more nurturing - key is responsiveness not gender
• why arent children without fathers different

  • children growing up in single or same sex parent families dont develop any differently - suggests father as secondary figure is not important
• why dont fathers become primary role

  • could be result of traditional gender roles - women expected to be more caring
  • or biological - oestrogen creates higher levels of nurturing - women biologically pre-disposed to be primary caregiver