Attachment - Caregiver-infant interactions Flashcards
Reciprocity
Respond to each other’s signals (turn-taking)
Alert phases
Signalling from baby that they are ready for interaction (Feldman & Eidelman - 2/3’ds time picked up on by mother)
Active involvement
Initiating interactions with each other
Interactional synchrony
Reflect actions & emotions of each other in co-ordinated way (mirroring)
Synchrony begins
2 weeks old - observed by Meltzoff & Moore (mirrored facial expressions of caregiver)
Importance for attachment (study)
Isabella et al - 30 mothers & babies observed & assessed degree of synchrony
Higher levels of synchrony -> better quality relationships
Contradictory research about importance
Koepke et al - replicated M&M’s study but failed to produce similar results
Le Vine et al - Kenyan mothers have little interaction with infants solely but still have high proportions of secure attachments
Sensitive responsiveness
Caregiver responds appropriately to signals given from the infant in a timely matter (creates stronger & more secure attachments)
Proximity
Closeness to the caregiver
Secure-based behaviour
Child returning to caregiver after doing something else
Separation anxiety
Crying & freaking out when caregiver leaves
Strengths of attachment research
Controlled conditions (controlled EVs -> internal reliability & validity)
Unaware of observation (infants do not know about observations -> natural behaviours -> internal validity)
Limitations of attachment research
Difficult to interpret (infants have lacking coordination -> uncertainty of movements having meaning -> reliant on inferences)
Failure to replicate (cross-culture research showing attachment w/o interaction -> previous observer bias? -> lacking external reliability)
