Outline and evaluate caregiver-infant interaction in humans as an
explanation for attachment
Para 1:
Attachment is an emotional bond between two people that endures over time, leading to
certain behaviours such as
• proximity
• separation distress
• secure base behaviour
Interactions between a caregiver and infant serve to develop and maintain an attachment
between them. Two feature of such interactions are reciprocity and interactional synchrony
Reciprocity = turn taking in an interaction
• Babies have alert phases signalling they are ready for interaction - mothers respond to this
• Reciprocity is where the mother and infant respond to each other’s signals in an
appropriate way (each elicits a response from the other). The interaction goes back and
forth between the two
Interactional Synchrony = the mother and infant mirror one another’s actions and emotions -
they perform the same actions simultaneously in order to sustain communication
• Meltzoff and Moore had adults display one of three facial expressions or gestures in infants
as young as 2-3 weeks. These infants mimicked the facial expressions or gestures of the
adults
• Synchrony was later found in infants only 3 days old
• They claimed that behaviour was intentional and ghat the infant was deliberately mirroring
the behaviour of the adult (shows them to be an active part of CG-H interaction)
Differences between the two:
1) Reciprocity is responding to an action with another whereas synchrony is mirroring the
same action
2) Reciprocity is reacting to a response after another whereas synchrony simultaneous
reactions
THERE IS SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR RECIPROCITY
• Tronick et al asked mothers who had been enjoying a dialogue with their baby to stop
moving and maintain a static expression on their faces
• Babies would try to tempt the mother into interaction by smiling and became distressed
when their smile did not provoke a response
CONCLUSION: THIS SHOWS THAT BABIES EXPECT AND ANTICIPATE
RESPONSES TO THEIR SMILES
explanation for attachment
Para 1:
Attachment is an emotional bond between two people that endures over time, leading to
certain behaviours such as
• proximity
• separation distress
• secure base behaviour
Interactions between a caregiver and infant serve to develop and maintain an attachment
between them. Two feature of such interactions are reciprocity and interactional synchrony
Reciprocity = turn taking in an interaction
• Babies have alert phases signalling they are ready for interaction - mothers respond to this
• Reciprocity is where the mother and infant respond to each other’s signals in an
appropriate way (each elicits a response from the other). The interaction goes back and
forth between the two
Interactional Synchrony = the mother and infant mirror one another’s actions and emotions -
they perform the same actions simultaneously in order to sustain communication
• Meltzoff and Moore had adults display one of three facial expressions or gestures in infants
as young as 2-3 weeks. These infants mimicked the facial expressions or gestures of the
adults
• Synchrony was later found in infants only 3 days old
• They claimed that behaviour was intentional and ghat the infant was deliberately mirroring
the behaviour of the adult (shows them to be an active part of CG-H interaction)
Differences between the two:
1) Reciprocity is responding to an action with another whereas synchrony is mirroring the
same action
2) Reciprocity is reacting to a response after another whereas synchrony simultaneous
reactions
THERE IS SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR RECIPROCITY
• Tronick et al asked mothers who had been enjoying a dialogue with their baby to stop
moving and maintain a static expression on their faces
• Babies would try to tempt the mother into interaction by smiling and became distressed
when their smile did not provoke a response
CONCLUSION: THIS SHOWS THAT BABIES EXPECT AND ANTICIPATE
RESPONSES TO THEIR SMILES
