caregiver- infant interactions Flashcards
(12 cards)
attachment definition
a close 2 way emotional bond in which each individual sees the other as an essential for emotional security
reciprocity
interactions flowing back and forth between caregiver and infant
interactional synchrony
temporal coordination of micro level social behaviour- caregiver infant actions and emotions mirror
how do babies show they are ready for interaction?
through eye contact and noises- alert phase at 3 months
how often do mothers pick up on their babies cues?
2/3 of the time- feldman and eidelman.
This shows that caregiver-infant interaction is frequent but not perfectly consistent, suggesting responsiveness plays a key role in developing attachment.
what factors affect a mothers responsiveness?
mother’s well being and external stress- finegood et al
what did meltzoff and moore find?
babies as young as 2 weeks old can imitate facial expressions and hand gestures shown by adults, such as sticking out their tongue or opening their mouth. This suggests that interactional synchrony is present from a very early age in human development.
what did isabella et al study?
30 mother-infant pairs - found that higher levels of interactional synchrony were associated with better quality of attachment. This suggests that the more in-tune and responsive a caregiver is during interactions, the stronger the attachment bond tends to be.
strength- high ecological validity
observe real life interactions between caregiver and infant= finding are reflective of natural behaviour (external val)- providing authentic insights
strength- reliable findings
Meltzoff and Moore’s study is easily replicable, and repeated studies have produced consistent results. This high reliability means the findings can be trusted and suggest that infant imitation of caregiver behaviour is genuine and measurable.
weakness- observer bias
researchers may interpret behaviours subjectively or based on their own expectations. This can affect inter-rater reliability, as different observers might record behaviours differently, reducing the accuracy and consistency of the findings.
weakness- low internal validity
unclear whether these interactions cause attachment or correlate with it. While behaviours like synchrony and reciprocity are linked to secure attachment, this does not prove they directly lead to it = further research is needed to establish a clear cause and effect relationship.
