Caregiver-infant interactions Flashcards
(7 cards)
1
Q
What is reciprocity?
A
- also called turn taking
- where both the caregiver and the baby respond to each other’s signals
- for example a caregiver may respond to a baby smiling which elicits a reaction
2
Q
What is an alert phase?
A
- phases where a baby signals that they are ready for interaction e.g eye contact
- mothers pick up on alert phases 2/3 of the time and the alert phase becomes increasingly frequent (Feldman)
3
Q
What is active involvement?
A
- where both the caregiver and the baby can initiate interactions and they take turns doing so (Brazelton) described as a dance where they take turns
4
Q
What is interactional synchrony?
A
- where the caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated way (Feldman)
- Meltzoff and Moore observed interactional synchrony in 2 week old babies - expressions and gestures of both baby and caregiver were recorded and labelled as mirroring each other
5
Q
Why is interactional synchrony important for attachment?
A
- Isabella et al 1989 observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed degree of synchrony and levels of quality attachments
- high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality attachments
6
Q
What is a strength of caregiver-infant interactions?
A
- strength of filmed observations, usually in laboratory, results can be analysed later by multiple people (inter-rater reliability) and babies don’t know they are being observed so less distractions - valid and reliable
7
Q
What are 2 limitations of caregiver-infant interactions?
A
- limitation that its difficult to observe babies because of their lack of co-ordination and subtle changes in expression meaning it is difficult to know if their is a purpose to their interactions
- limitation that just observing behaviour doesn’t tell us the developmental importance, Feldman states that reciprocity and interactional synchrony just give names to patterns of behaviour and it might not have a purpose
