ATT 01 - Reciprocity + synchronicity Flashcards
What is reciprocity?
- A description of how two people interact
- Caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both caregiver and baby response to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other
What is the alert phase?
When a baby signals their readiness to interact e.g. making eye contact
What is interactional synchrony?
- Caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised manner)
- It is sometimes referred to as temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour
What is attachment?
A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees other as essential for their own emotional security
Attachment can be recognised by people displaying what behaviours?
- Proximity => people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure
- Separation distress => people show signs of anxiety when an attachment figure leaves their presence
- Secure-base behaviour => even when we are independent of our attachment figures we tend to make regular contact with them. Babies display secure-base behaviour when they regularly return to their attachment figure while playing
What is active involvement?
- Traditional views of childhood have portrayed babies in a passive role, receiving care from an adult
- However, it seems that babies as well as caregivers actually take quite an active role
- Both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions, and they appear to take turns in doing so. T. Berry Brazelton et al. (1975) described this interaction as a ‘dance’ because it is just like a couple’s dance where each partner responds to the other person’s moves.
Who conducted the observation/study on synchrony?
Andrew Meltzoff and Keith Moore (1977)
What was the procedure and findings of the study/observation on synchrony?
- Andrew Meltzoff and Keith Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as two weeks old
- An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures
- The baby’s response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
- Babies’ expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults more than chance would predict i.e. there was a significant association
Who conducted the study on importance of attachment?
Russell Isabella et al. (1989)
What was the procedure and findings of the study/observation on importance of attachment?
- Russell Isabella et al. (1989) observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony
- The researchers also assessed the quality of mother-baby attachment
- They found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality of mother-baby attachment (e.g. the emotional intensity of the relationship)
What are the strengths of research on caregiver-infant interactions?
- Observations are filmed in a laboratory
- Research suggests that early interactions are important
- Research into early caregiver infant interaction has practical applications
Why is it advantageous that observations of caregiver-infant interactions are filmed in a laboratory?
- One strength of the research on this topic is that caregiver-infant interactions are usually filmed in a laboratory
- This means that other activity, that might distract a baby, can be controlled (distractions minimised)
- Also, using films means that observations can be recorded and analysed later (less chance of missing anything)
- Therefore, it is unlikely that researchers will miss seeing key behaviours
- Furthermore, having filmed interactions means that more than one observer can record data and establish the inter-rater reliability of observations (can access reliability of interobserver and intraobserver)
- Finally, babies don’t know they are being observed (no demand characteristics), so their behaviour does not change in response to observation (this is generally the main problem for overt observations)
- Therefore, the data collected in such research should have good reliability and validity
What research suggests that early interactions are important?
- There is evidence from other lines of research to suggest that early interactions are important
- For example, Isabella et al. (1989) found that achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of a good quality attachment
- This means that, on balance, caregiver-infant interaction is probably important in development
What are the practical application into early caregiver infant interactions?
- Research into early caregiver-infant interaction has practical applications in parenting skills training
- For example, Rebecca Crotwell et al. (2013) found that a 10-minute Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) improved interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school children
What are the limitations of research on caregiver-infant interactions?
- Difficult to interpret baby’s behaviour
- Observing behaviour doesn’t tell us its developmental importance
- Caregiver infant interactions are socially sensitive
- Possibly demand characteristics from the caregiver
Why might it be difficult to interpret a baby’s behaviour?
- One limitation of research into caregiver-infant interaction is that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour (are their expression deliberate or random?)
- Young babies lack co-ordination and much of their bodies are almost immobile
- The movements being observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression
- It is difficult to be sure, for example, whether a baby is smiling or just passing wind
- It is also difficult to determine what is taking place from the baby’s perspective
- For example, we cannot know whether a movement such as a hand twitch is random or triggered by something the caregiver has done
- This means we cannot be certain that the behaviours seen in caregiver-infant interactions have a special meaning
How does observing behaviour not tell us about its developmental importance?
- A further limitation is that simply observing a behaviour does not tell us its developmental importance
- Ruth Feldman (2012) points out that ideas like synchrony (and by implication reciprocity) simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours
- These are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed, but they still may not be particularly useful in understanding child development as it does not tell us the purpose of these behaviours
- This means that we cannot be certain from observational research alone that reciprocity and synchrony are important for a child’s development
How are caregiver-infant interactions socially sensitive?
Research into caregiver-infant interaction is socially sensitive because it can be used to argue that when a mother returns to work soon after having a baby this may risk damaging their baby’s development
