caregiver infant interactions

Question 1

attachment definition

Answer 1

an emotional bond/tie between two people, usually primary caregiver and child

relationship is reciprocal
meaning it’s a two way relationship that endures over time

Question 2

caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 2

infancy-period of childs life before speech begins

key interactions between caregiver and infant is their non-verbal communication i.e without words or without sounds

it is manner at which each responds to the other determines the formation of the attachment
more sensitive each is the other signals, deeper the relationship

Question 3

what are the two types of caregiver infant interactions called

Answer 3

reciprocity

intersectional synchrony

Question 4

reciprocity

Answer 4

reciprocal-means two ways
infant responds to actions of another person in form or turn taking

actions of one person elicits response from the other

babies have periodic ‘alert’ phases in which signal making eye con cat that they are ready for interaction

mothers typically pick up and respond 2/3 of the time

around 3 months, reciprocity increases as infant and caregiver pay increasing attention to each others verbal and facial communications

showing sensitive repsonsigensss, will lay strong foundations for attachment to develop later

Brazelton et al describe interaction like a dance where each respond to each others rythem ans movement
likewise, reciprocity is back and fourth

Question 5

interactional synchrony

Answer 5

relates to timing and pattern of interaction

interaction is rythmic as well as recipriocal

include infant ans caregiver mirroring each others behaviours and emotions e.g facial expressions

mirroring can also be referred to as imitation/ coping someone else

child will move their body or carry out the same act as the caregiver simulationsery and the two are said to be synchronised

helps sustain commutation and tells us about quality of intervention.

isabella et al observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony

found high elveks of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment

Question 6

isabella et al

Answer 6

used 30 babies and mothers to assess degree of synchrony

assessed quality of mother-baby attachment

high levels of synchrony=high mother-baby attachment

Question 7

meltzoff and moore

Answer 7

wanted to observe interactional synchrony in infants as young as two weeks old

used controlled experiment
adult displayed one of 3 facial experssions and a hand gesture
see repsonse of infan
babys repsonse was filmed
results-clear associaiton betern facial expression and hand gesture to the response of the baby

later research, found same finigs in three month old infants

conclusion-shows intercational synchrony is innate

Question 8

strength-filmed in labs

Answer 8

usually filmed in labs

means activity that may distact the baby can be controlled

using films means can analyse later

unlikley, researchers will miss key behaviours
means more than one observer can reord data and establish inter-rater reliability of observations

finally, babies dont know being observed

therefore, good reliability and validity

Question 9

weakness -difficult in explaianing behaviour from an infants perspective

Answer 9

difficult in explaning behaviour from an infents perspective

what is being observed is merely hand gestures and facial expression

we dont know what is happening from infants perspective

e.g a movemtn such as hand wrist could be random or triggered by something cargeiver has done
cannot be certain has special meaning

Question 10

weakness-caregiver and infant interactions do not tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity

Answer 10

feldman points out that synchrony and reciprocity simply describe behaviours that occur at the same time