describe and evaluate research into care-giver infant
interactions (16)
An attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals where
they see the other person as essential for emotional security. Babies have
meaningful social interactions with their carers, and these interactions are important
for the child’s social development and the development of the caregiver - infant
interactions. One type of caregiver - infant interaction is reciprocity, which is a way in
which two people interact where a mother and infant respond to each other's signals
which are designed to elicit a response from the other. This is called 'turn taking' and
is essential in any conversation so people don't talk over each other. Babies have
periodic alert phases to signal they are ready for a spell of interaction, such as
making eye contact. Feldman found that mothers pick up and respond to babies'
alertness 2/3 of the time, but Finegood argues this varies according to skills of the
mother. Feldman found this interaction increases from about 3 months old and
involves both mother and infant paying attention to each other's verbal signals and
facial expressions. Both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions and take turns in
doing so, both taking an active role. Brazelton described this interaction as a 'dance',
where each partner responds to the other's moves. Another type of caregiver-infant
interaction is interactional synchrony, where caregiver and baby reflect both the
actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated way. It takes place when
caregiver and baby interact in a way that their actions mirror each other's. Meltzoff
observed the beginning of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks
old. An adult displayed one of three facial expressions and the babies' response was
filmed and labelled by independent observers. A significant association was found
between the babies' expressions mirroring those of the adults, more than chance
could predict.
Point: A strength of research into early caregiver-infant interactions is the use of well-
controlled procedures.
Evidence: For example, mother-infant interactions are often filmed from multiple
angles, allowing for detailed analysis of behavior.
Explanation: This enhances the validity of conclusions, as independent observers
can review the footage to establish inter-rater reliability by comparing their findings to
see if they were similar and thus reliable.
Link: As a result, the research provides more reliable and credible insights into early
caregiver-infant interactions.
A strength of the research study conducted by Meltzoff is that there is further
research to provide evidence that imitation behaviours by babies are innate
(biological). For example, I conducted a study using two-month-old infants. Infants
first interacted with their mothers in real-time via video. Later, the video showed
prerecorded footage where the image on the screen did not respond to the infant’s
gestures. The infants, unable to interact with their moms, eventually turned
away.This suggests that imitation behaviour is innate; the infant is actively eliciting a
,response rather than exhibiting a response that has been rewarded. If there was an
element of reward in the process, it would suggest the behaviour had been learnt. As
a result, this strengthens the validity of Meltzoff original research and conclusion that
reciprocal synchrony is innate, increasing the credibility of this explanation.
A limitation with the research into synchrony and reciprocity is that the findings don't
tell us the reason why the behaviours in caregiver-infant interactions occur. All it
does is describe what’s happening between the mother and infant. Some
psychologists disagree with this view and offer several reasons why these
behaviours occur. Isabella demonstrated the importance of interactional synchrony,
when he found high levels of synchrony were linked with a higher quality infant-
mother attachment, suggesting that such behaviours are helpful in the development
of attachment. However, Le Vine reported that Kenyan mothers have little interaction
with their infants,but they still develop secure attachments. This suggests that
reciprocity and interactional synchrony is not found in all cultures, which weakens the
idea that they are necessary for the development of attachments. This would
suggest further research evidence into caregiver-infant interactions is needed.
A limitation is its challenging to study caregiver-infant interaction and interpret a
baby's behaviour accurately. Infants have limited coordination and mobility, often
displaying subtle movements or minor changes in expression. This means it's difficult
to be sure what is taking place from the infant's perspective, for example whether a
baby is smiling or just passing wind. Moreover, differentiating between random
movements and those prompted by the caregiver remains uncertain. This is a
limitation as it means that we cannot be certain if behaviours observed in caregiver-
infant interactions have special meaning.
, Describe and evaluate research into the influence of
attachment on childhood and adult relationships. (16)
Bowlby's research suggests that early attachments can have lifelong impacts on a person's
psychological and emotional well-being. According to Bowlby, the key factor in this process
is the development of the internal working model, which is a schema/mental framework of
relationships that is based on our experiences of our first relationship. For example, a child
who experiences a loving relationship with their mother will tend to form an expectation that
all relationships are like this. As a result, the child's internal working model will influence later
relationships in childhood and adulthood. This is known as the continuity hypothesis, in other
words, the attachment style that the infant experienced with their mother will continue to
guide their relationship behaviour. Attachment type is linked with the quality of peer
relationships in childhood. Securely attached infants go on to form the best quality childhood
friendships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties. Secure
children are unlikely to bully, insecure avoidant are most likely to be victims and insecure
resistant are most likely to bully. Hazan and Shaver’s did a study on the link between
attachment and adult relationships where they used a love quiz of 3 sections. 1: Current or
most important relationship, 2: General romantic experiences, 3: Type of relationship with
parents (i.e. attachment type/internal working model). They found 56% of respondents were
identified as securely attached. These respondents described their love experiences as
happy and trusting, and did not fear intimacy. They were most likely to have a longer-lasting
relationship. 25% of respondents were identified as insecure–avoidant. They described
themselves as being uncomfortable with getting close with their partner and were less
trusting. 19% of respondents were identified as insecure–resistant. They describe
themselves as being preoccupied with obsessive love (e.g. jealousy) and feeling insecure
when in a relationship - they are most likely to get divorced. Internal working models also
affect the ability of the child to parent their brown child. People tend to base their parenting
style on their internal working model - attachment type is passed on through generations
Bailey's study found the majority of women had the same attachment classification both to
their babies and their own moms.
A limitation of the influence of infant attachment on future relationships is that it may be
exaggerated. Feeney argued that adult attachment patterns might result from the
relationship itself rather than early attachment, suggesting that secure or insecure
relationships shape attachment styles in adulthood. Additionally a study stated that the
impact of early attachment is based on probability, meaning people with attachment issues
are not destined to have poor relationships but are simply at greater risk. This suggests that
the theory may be overly deterministic, as people can reflect on and change their internal
working models, leading to healthier relationships despite early attachment difficulties.
An issue with Bowlby’s idea that the internal working model affects later adult relationships is
that the evidence to support this is mixed. Zimmerman found little correlation between infant
attachment type and later adolescent attachment to parents, contradicting the idea that early
attachment strongly influences future relationships. This challenges Bowlby’s view that the
internal working model plays a crucial role in relationship development, as other factors may
have a greater impact over time. As a result, the credibility of Bowlby’s theory is weakened,
suggesting that attachment styles may not be as fixed or predictive as originally thought.
A strength of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships is that
there is supporting evidence. McCarthy studied 40 adult women who had been assessed as
infants and found that securely attached people had the best friendships+romantic
relationships, while insecure-resistant individuals struggled with friendships, and insecure-
avoidant people had difficulty with intimacy in romantic relationships. This supports Bowlby’s
internal working model, as it shows a clear link between early attachment experiences and
interactions (16)
An attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals where
they see the other person as essential for emotional security. Babies have
meaningful social interactions with their carers, and these interactions are important
for the child’s social development and the development of the caregiver - infant
interactions. One type of caregiver - infant interaction is reciprocity, which is a way in
which two people interact where a mother and infant respond to each other's signals
which are designed to elicit a response from the other. This is called 'turn taking' and
is essential in any conversation so people don't talk over each other. Babies have
periodic alert phases to signal they are ready for a spell of interaction, such as
making eye contact. Feldman found that mothers pick up and respond to babies'
alertness 2/3 of the time, but Finegood argues this varies according to skills of the
mother. Feldman found this interaction increases from about 3 months old and
involves both mother and infant paying attention to each other's verbal signals and
facial expressions. Both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions and take turns in
doing so, both taking an active role. Brazelton described this interaction as a 'dance',
where each partner responds to the other's moves. Another type of caregiver-infant
interaction is interactional synchrony, where caregiver and baby reflect both the
actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated way. It takes place when
caregiver and baby interact in a way that their actions mirror each other's. Meltzoff
observed the beginning of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks
old. An adult displayed one of three facial expressions and the babies' response was
filmed and labelled by independent observers. A significant association was found
between the babies' expressions mirroring those of the adults, more than chance
could predict.
Point: A strength of research into early caregiver-infant interactions is the use of well-
controlled procedures.
Evidence: For example, mother-infant interactions are often filmed from multiple
angles, allowing for detailed analysis of behavior.
Explanation: This enhances the validity of conclusions, as independent observers
can review the footage to establish inter-rater reliability by comparing their findings to
see if they were similar and thus reliable.
Link: As a result, the research provides more reliable and credible insights into early
caregiver-infant interactions.
A strength of the research study conducted by Meltzoff is that there is further
research to provide evidence that imitation behaviours by babies are innate
(biological). For example, I conducted a study using two-month-old infants. Infants
first interacted with their mothers in real-time via video. Later, the video showed
prerecorded footage where the image on the screen did not respond to the infant’s
gestures. The infants, unable to interact with their moms, eventually turned
away.This suggests that imitation behaviour is innate; the infant is actively eliciting a
,response rather than exhibiting a response that has been rewarded. If there was an
element of reward in the process, it would suggest the behaviour had been learnt. As
a result, this strengthens the validity of Meltzoff original research and conclusion that
reciprocal synchrony is innate, increasing the credibility of this explanation.
A limitation with the research into synchrony and reciprocity is that the findings don't
tell us the reason why the behaviours in caregiver-infant interactions occur. All it
does is describe what’s happening between the mother and infant. Some
psychologists disagree with this view and offer several reasons why these
behaviours occur. Isabella demonstrated the importance of interactional synchrony,
when he found high levels of synchrony were linked with a higher quality infant-
mother attachment, suggesting that such behaviours are helpful in the development
of attachment. However, Le Vine reported that Kenyan mothers have little interaction
with their infants,but they still develop secure attachments. This suggests that
reciprocity and interactional synchrony is not found in all cultures, which weakens the
idea that they are necessary for the development of attachments. This would
suggest further research evidence into caregiver-infant interactions is needed.
A limitation is its challenging to study caregiver-infant interaction and interpret a
baby's behaviour accurately. Infants have limited coordination and mobility, often
displaying subtle movements or minor changes in expression. This means it's difficult
to be sure what is taking place from the infant's perspective, for example whether a
baby is smiling or just passing wind. Moreover, differentiating between random
movements and those prompted by the caregiver remains uncertain. This is a
limitation as it means that we cannot be certain if behaviours observed in caregiver-
infant interactions have special meaning.
, Describe and evaluate research into the influence of
attachment on childhood and adult relationships. (16)
Bowlby's research suggests that early attachments can have lifelong impacts on a person's
psychological and emotional well-being. According to Bowlby, the key factor in this process
is the development of the internal working model, which is a schema/mental framework of
relationships that is based on our experiences of our first relationship. For example, a child
who experiences a loving relationship with their mother will tend to form an expectation that
all relationships are like this. As a result, the child's internal working model will influence later
relationships in childhood and adulthood. This is known as the continuity hypothesis, in other
words, the attachment style that the infant experienced with their mother will continue to
guide their relationship behaviour. Attachment type is linked with the quality of peer
relationships in childhood. Securely attached infants go on to form the best quality childhood
friendships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties. Secure
children are unlikely to bully, insecure avoidant are most likely to be victims and insecure
resistant are most likely to bully. Hazan and Shaver’s did a study on the link between
attachment and adult relationships where they used a love quiz of 3 sections. 1: Current or
most important relationship, 2: General romantic experiences, 3: Type of relationship with
parents (i.e. attachment type/internal working model). They found 56% of respondents were
identified as securely attached. These respondents described their love experiences as
happy and trusting, and did not fear intimacy. They were most likely to have a longer-lasting
relationship. 25% of respondents were identified as insecure–avoidant. They described
themselves as being uncomfortable with getting close with their partner and were less
trusting. 19% of respondents were identified as insecure–resistant. They describe
themselves as being preoccupied with obsessive love (e.g. jealousy) and feeling insecure
when in a relationship - they are most likely to get divorced. Internal working models also
affect the ability of the child to parent their brown child. People tend to base their parenting
style on their internal working model - attachment type is passed on through generations
Bailey's study found the majority of women had the same attachment classification both to
their babies and their own moms.
A limitation of the influence of infant attachment on future relationships is that it may be
exaggerated. Feeney argued that adult attachment patterns might result from the
relationship itself rather than early attachment, suggesting that secure or insecure
relationships shape attachment styles in adulthood. Additionally a study stated that the
impact of early attachment is based on probability, meaning people with attachment issues
are not destined to have poor relationships but are simply at greater risk. This suggests that
the theory may be overly deterministic, as people can reflect on and change their internal
working models, leading to healthier relationships despite early attachment difficulties.
An issue with Bowlby’s idea that the internal working model affects later adult relationships is
that the evidence to support this is mixed. Zimmerman found little correlation between infant
attachment type and later adolescent attachment to parents, contradicting the idea that early
attachment strongly influences future relationships. This challenges Bowlby’s view that the
internal working model plays a crucial role in relationship development, as other factors may
have a greater impact over time. As a result, the credibility of Bowlby’s theory is weakened,
suggesting that attachment styles may not be as fixed or predictive as originally thought.
A strength of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships is that
there is supporting evidence. McCarthy studied 40 adult women who had been assessed as
infants and found that securely attached people had the best friendships+romantic
relationships, while insecure-resistant individuals struggled with friendships, and insecure-
avoidant people had difficulty with intimacy in romantic relationships. This supports Bowlby’s
internal working model, as it shows a clear link between early attachment experiences and
