Attachment: topic 1 ‘caregiver infant interactions, reciprocity/interactional synchrony’

Question 1

What is attachment?

Answer 1

• attachment is a strong emotional enduring bond that an infant has with one or more of his/her caregivers
• an attachment connects one person to another across time and space and each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure

Question 2

How can we see that two people have an attachment to eachother?

Answer 2

• they are selective
• they involve proximity seeking
• they provide comfort and security
• there will be distress on separation from the attachment figure

Question 3

What is reciprocity?

Answer 3

• reciprocity refers to the interaction between two people where they respond to each others signals, one after the other
• this can be seen as turn taking
• from birth, babies and their mothers spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interaction
• mothers typically pick up on and respond to infant alertness around 2/3 of the time
• an interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
• ‘back and forth’ communication

Question 4

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 4

• two people are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same action simultaneously
• interaction synchrony is when infants move their bodies in tune with the carers’ spoken language
• serves to reinforce the attachment bond
• actions and emotions mirror eacjother
• eg a baby moves her head in time with the mother