1🍒Caregiver-Infant Interactions- Attatchment PAPER1

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

-deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969)

Question 2

Maccoby (1980) characteristics attachment

Answer 2

1. Seeking proximity
2. Separation anxiety
3. Pleasure when reunited
4. General orientation of behaviour towards caregiver (awareness where person is and reassurance when close)

Question 3

Altricial

Answer 3

-human babies altricial
-born at relatively early stage development requiring care and feeding by parents
-need to form bonds with adults who will protect and nurture them

Question 4

Precocial

Answer 4

-humans different to precocial animals
-born relatively mature and mobile from moment of birth or hatching

Question 5

non verbal communication infants

Answer 5

-babies born primitive reflexes such as sucking to help survive in world
-produce social releases to ekwicie response from caregiver who can respond their needs
-baby led, adult responding to behaviour of baby
-e.g crying smiling screaming laughing

Question 6

Reciprocity

Answer 6

-infant responds to actions of another person in form of turn taking
-actions if person (eg primary caregiver) elicits response from other (eg infant)
-from birth babies move in rhythm when interacting with adult as if taking turns

Question 7

Alert phase

Answer 7

-babies have periodic alert phase in which they signal (eg eye contact) that they are ready for spell of interaction
-research shows mothers typically pick up on these signals although this varies depending on skill of mother and external factors such as stress (finegood et al 2016)

Question 8

Active phase

Answer 8

-traditional views childhood portrayed babies in passive role, receiving care from adult in one way interaction
-however, seems that babies as well as caregivers actuslly take quite active role
-both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions and they appear to take turns in doing so

Question 9

Feldman & Eidelman (2007)

Answer 9

-babies have alert phase signal when ready interaction
-mothers pick up on and respond to infant alertness 2/3 of time
-Feldman found around 3 months this interaction tends to be more frequent and involves close attention to each others verbal signals and facial expressions

Question 10

Feldman (2007)

Answer 10

-reciprocity increases in frequency as infant and caregiver pay increasing attention to each others facial and verbal communications
-suggested that showing this sensitive responsiveness where caregiver pays attention sensitively towards infants behaviour, will lay strong foundations for attachment to develop later between caregiver and infant

Question 11

Brazleton et al (1975)

Answer 11

-identified trends in mother baby interactional synchrony
-videotapes of 12 mother baby plaits play behaviour was examined up to 5 months age
-revealed three phases of play
1.attention and build up
2.recovery
3.turning away
-these phases repeated at regular intervals over 7 minute fottage
-concluded that the three phases of play demonstrate early signs of organised behaviour and were likened to a dance

Question 12

Interactional synchrony

Answer 12

-form of rhythmic interaction between infant and caregiver involving mutual focus, reciprocity and mirroring of emotion or behaviour
-infant corrdinate their actions with caregivers in a kind of conversation
-from birth babies move in a rhythm when interacting with adult almost as if taking turns
-infant and caregiver able to anticipate how each other will behave and can elicit particular response from other
-e.g caregiver who laughs in response to infants giggling sound and tickles them is experiencing synchronised interaction

Question 13

Meltzoff & Moore (1977) SUMMARY

Answer 13

-observed beginning of interactional synchrony in babies young as 2 weeks
-adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures
-babies response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
-babies expression and gestures more likely to morristown those of adults more than chance would predict (significant association)

Question 14

Meltzoff & Moore (1977) AIM

Answer 14

to examine synchrony in infants

Question 15

Meltzoff & Moore (1977) METHOD

Answer 15

-controlled observation, adult model display one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures
-first, child had dummy in mouth to prevent any facial response
-following display from adult model, dummy removed and child’s expression filmed

Question 16

Meltzoff & Moore (1977) RESULTS

Answer 16

-clear association between infants behaviour and that of adult model
-later research by Meltzoff & Moore (1983) found same findings in 3 day old infants

Question 17

Meltzoff & Moore (1977) CONCLUSIONS

Answer 17

-findings suggest interactional synchrony is an innate ability
-imitative behaviour not learned as babies too young to have learned it through experience
-supports idea babies socially responsive from birth

Question 18

When is interactional synchrony most likely to develop

Answer 18

-if caregiver attends fully to baby’s state, provides playful stimulation when infant is alert and attentive, and avoids pushing things when an overexcited or tired infant is fussy

Question 19

Importance of interactional synchrony

Answer 19

-can facilitate emotional attunement, as coordinated non verbal behaviours may help individuals better understand and connect with each others emotional state

Question 20

Attunement

Answer 20

-subtle process parent ‚tuned in’ to child’s emotional needs
-caregiver needs to be good at noticing tiny and quick changes in baby’s emotions
-they have to show baby through facial expressions, voice tone and body language that they understand those emotions and share experience with baby
-when things go smoothly, attunement helps child feel truly understood, accepted and supported by caregiver