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Caregiver infant interactions
Attachment =
• a close, two way reciprocal, emotional bond between two individuals - its characterised by close proximity,
separation distress and secure base behaviour
Reciprocity =
• interaction is a two way, mutual process
• Infant and caregiver will take it in turns to respond to each others signals to sustain the interaction
• The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other
• Serves to reinforce the attachment bond
• Alert phases - at periodic times, babies signal, e.g make eye contact, that they are ready for a spell of
interaction - Feldman (2007) found that from 3 months babies seem to have a lot of alert phases. Before
then, it was less frequent as they sleep a lot, etc
• Active involvement - both caregivers and babies initiate reactions and take turns in doing so - Brazelton et
al (1975) described this as a dance where each partner responds to the other persons move
Interactional synchrony =
• the adult and infant mirror the actions of eachother in a synchronised way - appearing as one person
• Adults and infants respond in time to sustain communication
• Also serves to reinforce the attachment bond (makes it stronger)
Research into Interactional synchrony:
1) beginning of synchrony - Meltzo and Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of Interactional synchrony in
babies from 2 weeks - an adult would display one of 3 gestures or one of 3 facial expressions - they found a
signi cant association with the adult and the babies’ expressions and gestures
2) its importance for attachment - Isabella et al (1989) observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed the
degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachments - found high levels of synchrony were
associated with better quality mother-baby attachment - more synchronised baby is with mother, the better the
+ research takes place in controlled environments - — methodological issues - babies spend long periods
caregiver-infant interactions are usually lmed in a lab - asleep which can limit time available for research - means
means other activity, which might distract babies can that by studying the baby when it is not fully awake it can
be controlled (EV’s) - furthermore, as its lmed, inter- decrease the validity of investigation — however, this may
rater reliability can be established - this increases the be dealt with by having more observation periods, but for
validity and reliability of research into caregiver infant shorter time periods
interactions — however, too much control lacks
ecological validity — issue of intentionality (why the infant is doing what it’s
doing) - Feldman (2012) found that synchrony and
reciprocity simply de ne behaviour that occur but is doesnt
tell us their purpose of why they happen - researcher has to
make an inference, which is subjective and biased - means
it is di cult to conclude whether the imitative behaviours
are deliberate or conscious (meltzo and Moore) —
however, there is evidence from Isabella et al that these
behaviours are linked to better quality attachments -
therefore behaviours are purposeful
fi ffi fi ffff fifi
Caregiver infant interactions
Attachment =
• a close, two way reciprocal, emotional bond between two individuals - its characterised by close proximity,
separation distress and secure base behaviour
Reciprocity =
• interaction is a two way, mutual process
• Infant and caregiver will take it in turns to respond to each others signals to sustain the interaction
• The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other
• Serves to reinforce the attachment bond
• Alert phases - at periodic times, babies signal, e.g make eye contact, that they are ready for a spell of
interaction - Feldman (2007) found that from 3 months babies seem to have a lot of alert phases. Before
then, it was less frequent as they sleep a lot, etc
• Active involvement - both caregivers and babies initiate reactions and take turns in doing so - Brazelton et
al (1975) described this as a dance where each partner responds to the other persons move
Interactional synchrony =
• the adult and infant mirror the actions of eachother in a synchronised way - appearing as one person
• Adults and infants respond in time to sustain communication
• Also serves to reinforce the attachment bond (makes it stronger)
Research into Interactional synchrony:
1) beginning of synchrony - Meltzo and Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of Interactional synchrony in
babies from 2 weeks - an adult would display one of 3 gestures or one of 3 facial expressions - they found a
signi cant association with the adult and the babies’ expressions and gestures
2) its importance for attachment - Isabella et al (1989) observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed the
degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachments - found high levels of synchrony were
associated with better quality mother-baby attachment - more synchronised baby is with mother, the better the
+ research takes place in controlled environments - — methodological issues - babies spend long periods
caregiver-infant interactions are usually lmed in a lab - asleep which can limit time available for research - means
means other activity, which might distract babies can that by studying the baby when it is not fully awake it can
be controlled (EV’s) - furthermore, as its lmed, inter- decrease the validity of investigation — however, this may
rater reliability can be established - this increases the be dealt with by having more observation periods, but for
validity and reliability of research into caregiver infant shorter time periods
interactions — however, too much control lacks
ecological validity — issue of intentionality (why the infant is doing what it’s
doing) - Feldman (2012) found that synchrony and
reciprocity simply de ne behaviour that occur but is doesnt
tell us their purpose of why they happen - researcher has to
make an inference, which is subjective and biased - means
it is di cult to conclude whether the imitative behaviours
are deliberate or conscious (meltzo and Moore) —
however, there is evidence from Isabella et al that these
behaviours are linked to better quality attachments -
therefore behaviours are purposeful
fi ffi fi ffff fifi
