Attachment - Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Question 1

Reciprocity definition

Answer 1

An interaction that is reciprocal between the child and main caregiver
- smile
- sticking out their tounge

Question 2

Interactional Synchrony definition

Answer 2

‘The temporary co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour’
- it takes place where a mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other

Question 3

Brazelton - reciprocity

Answer 3

• described mother and infant interactions as a ‘dance’
• it is just like a couple’s dance where each partner responds to each other’s moves

Question 4

Meltzoff and Moore - interactional synchrony

Answer 4

• conducted the first systematic study of interactional synchrony and found that infants as young as 2 or 3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures
• the study was conducted using an adult model who displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions or hand movements where the fingers moved in a sequence
• a dummy was placed in the infant’s mouth during the initial display to prevent any response
• following the display, the dummy was removed and the child’s expression was filmed
• they found that there was an association between the infant behaviour and that of the adult model

Question 5

Isabella et al

Answer 5

• found that securely attached mother-infant pairs had shown more instances of interactional synchrony in first year of life
• the high levels were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment
• interactional synchrony is important for the development of mother-infant attachment