Role of the father

• Schaffer and Emmerson found that most babies primary attachment figure was their mum, and only 3% of cases was it the father alone. However by the age of 18 months, 75% of the infants formed attachments with their fathers showing separation anxiety. This shows the importance of fathers.
• What did Schaffer's research find about babies' attachments?

  Babies initially attach to their mothers
• What percentage of babies formed attachments with their fathers by 18 months?

  75 %
• What behavior indicates that babies formed an attachment with their fathers?

  Showing separation anxiety
• What role do fathers play in their babies' development according to the study?

  Engage babies in 'active play'
• What correlation did Grossman et al. find in their study?

  Quality of fathers' play correlates with quality of adolescent attachments
• How do fathers' and mothers' roles differ according to the research?

  Fathers focus on play, mothers on nurturing
• What change occurs in men's interactional style when they become primary attachment figures?

  It becomes more like mothers' emotional and nurturing role
• What did Tiffany Field film in her study?

  Face-to-face interactions of babies with primary mother and father caregivers and secondary father caregivers
• What did Field find about primary caregiver fathers in her study?

  They showed more reciprocity and interactional synchrony for example the baby smiling and imitating
• What behaviors indicate interactional synchrony in babies?

  Smiling and imitating
• How does a father's role change when he is the primary attachment figure?

  He expresses a more nurturing role in the baby's development
• What does Grossman's longitudinal study suggest about the role of the father?

  • the father is more about play and stimulation
  • whereas mother is more about nurturing