role of the father

• Father: anyone who takes role of the main male caregiver
• Schaffer and Emerson role of father:

  • 3% of cases father was sole attachment figure
  • 27% father was first joint object of attachment
  • fathers become important attachment figures by 18 months (75%)
• Schaffer and Emerson role of father conclusion:

  • mothers are usually first attachment figure, strong attachments to father follow
• Klaus Grossman et al procedure:

  • babies attachments were studied until they were teens
  • looked at parents relationship and relationship to the quality of the baby's later attachment to other people
• Klaus Grossman et al's findings:

  • attachment to mothers not fathers related to attachments in adolescence
  • role of mother is different and more important
  • quality of father's play and stimulation related to quality of adolescent attachment
• Klaus Grossman's conclusion:

  • attachment to mothers is more important in steering attachment, fathers have a different role
• Tiffany Field procedure:

  • filmed 4 month old babies - face to face interactions with primary caregiver mother, primary caregiver father and secondary caregiver father
• Tiffany field findings:

  • primary caregiver mother and father spent more time smiling and interacting than secondary caregiver father
  • supports Isabella et al
  • fathers have potential for emotion- focused role when needed
• Tiffany Field conclusion:

  • quality is more important than who attachment is with, fathers can be primary caregivers
• EVALUATION: real life application

  • parents agonise over who should be primary caregiver - mothers feel pressure to stay at home due to stereotypes
  • reassures parents they can adopt role of primary caregiver or other distinctive role - reassures same sex couples
  • research reduces anxiety in new parents and helps parents make real life decisions
• EVALUATION: confusion over research question

  • question what is the role of the father is far more complicated
  • some want to explore role of father as primary and other secondary caregiver - some suggest role is primary caregiver, some suggest play
  • difficult to offer answer to question, research needs to be specific
• EVALUATION: conflicting evidence due to methology

  • longitudinal studies suggest role is secoondary caregiver that have important and distinct role in development
  • if it was distinct, single mother households would be different to hetero households - McCallum and Golombok found this isnt the case
  • conflicting evidence leaves question of whether role of father is distinct unanswered
• EVALUATION: observer bias in Grossman's study

  • stereotypical fathers and role of parenting are seen in media and adverts
  • stereotypes caused unintended observer bias - leads to conclusion that role is distinctive to father
  • observing what they expected rather than objective reality