Caregiver-Infant Interactions - Evaluation

Question 1

What are strengths of caregiver-infant interaction research?

Answer 1

Filmed in a lab allowing control for distractions.

• Recorded interactions and analyzed later, unlikely to miss key behaviours
• more than 1 observer can record data and establish inter-rater reliability
• babies behaviour doesnt change when observed

Question 2

What is a limitation of caregiver-infant interaction research?

Answer 2

Hard to interpret babies’ behaviors due to their uncoordinated and immobile nature.

Subtle expression changes can easily be missed, and movements may sometimes be random.

Question 3

What’s another limitation of caregiver-infant interactions research?

Answer 3

Babies perspective is unknown

• Observing behaviours doesnt tell us how important theyre to development
• cannot use observations alone to tell us about the purpose of those behaviours

Question 4

What practical value does Crotwell et al highlight?

Answer 4

10-minute parent-child interaction therapy improves interactional synchrony.

suggests that targeted interventions can enhance caregiver-infant interactions.

Question 5

What ethical problem arises from caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 5

Socially sensitive as it implies that mothers who return to work risk damaging their childs development