Caregiver-infant Interactions

Question 1

What is the definition of attachment?

Answer 1

A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security.
Takes a few months to develop.

Question 2

What is proximity?

Answer 2

Staying physically close to those we are attached to.

Question 3

What is separation distress?

Answer 3

Getting upset when an attachment figure leaves.

Question 4

What is secure base behaviour?

Answer 4

Regularly returning to the attachment figure.

Question 5

Why are interactions between a caregiver and an infant important?

Answer 5

These interactions are important for social development.

Question 6

What one social interaction do babies have with their caregivers?

Answer 6

Reciprocity.
This is when an infant and mother respond to each others signals and each elicits a response from each other.

Question 7

What interactions are involved with reciprocity?

Answer 7

Alert phases: pleasurable interactions happen when the baby is alert. Alert time gets more and more as they get older. Carers pick up on this alertness and respond 2/3 of the time (Feldman and Eidelman, 2007).
At 3 months interactions get more frequent, attention to verbal signs and facial expressions.
Active involvement: Recent research suggets that babies aren’t passive. Babies have a very active role and both carers and babies can initiate interaction.

Question 8

What other interaction do babies have with their caregivers?

Answer 8

Interactional Synchrony.
Mother and infants interactions mirror each other. Temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour.

Question 9

What study was done regarding interactional synchrony?

Answer 9

Meltzoff and Moore (1977).
Investigated this in babies as young as two weeks old.
Adults displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions and 1 of 3 gestures to a baby. Was filmed and showed that there was an association between facial expression/gesture of the adult and the action if the infant.

Question 10

What study showed the importance of interactional synchrony?

Answer 10

Isabella et al (1989).
Observed 30 mothers and infants together = assessed the degree of synchrony.
Assessedbthe quality of mother-infant interactions.
Found that high levels of synchrony was associated with a better development and quality of mother-infant interactions.

Question 11

What is a limitation of caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 11

There is difficulty observing babies. Can’t be certain that these imitations are conscious and deliberate on the infants part and not random movements. It is difficult to conclude these imitations have a special meaning and are a demonstration of reciprocity or interactional synchrony. E.g. babies smile when they have wind, this can be misinterpreted as a smike directed to a person.

Question 12

What is another limitation of caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 12

A baby’s behaviour is affected by time of day, tiredness, hunger and developmental milestones. So the behaviour may not be typical during the observation. Development is individual and not all babies are the same age and have the same capabilities. Makes the comparisons difficult. Behaviour may be different with the presence of different caregivers.

Question 13

What is a strength of caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 13

It is a filmed observation.
Observations of mother/infant interactions are well controlled procedures. They can be easily analysed. Also, babies don’t know they are being filmed so their behaviour does not change during an observation like an adults might. Ensures good validity.

Question 14

What is another limitation of caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 14

Feldman (2012) says that observations only describe these behaviours and don’t tell us about their purpose. Doesn’t tell us about the purpose of reciprocity and synchrony, only tells us the behaviours that happen at the same time.
HOWEVER, there is some research to suggest taht reciprocity and synchront help in the development of future developments, stress response, empathy, language and moral development.

Question 15

What is another strength caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 15

There is practical application.
There is research into caregiver-infant interactions that can be applied to skill training for parents.
Crotwell found that a 10 min parent-child interaction therapy improved interactional synchrony in 20 low income mothers and their pre-school children.
HOWEVER, Caregiver-infant interaction is socially sensitive as it can be used to argue when a mother returns to work soon after their baby is born. May risk damaging baby development.

Question 16

What does primary caregiver mean?

Answer 16

Person who spends most time with the baby, caring for its needs.

Question 17

What does primary attachment figure mean?

Answer 17

Person to whom the baby has the strongest attachment.

Question 18

What does heteronormativity mean?

Answer 18

The idea that heterosexual attraction and relationships are the normal form of sexuality. Assumption that babies have opposite sex parents. Most research is based on this.

Question 19

What attachment do infant have to their fathers?

Answer 19

Most attachment research is focused on mother-infant attachment.
For example, Schaffer & Emerson (1964) found that the majority of babies became attached to their mother first ( the primary attachment) at about 7 months old and within a few weeks became attached to secondary attachment figures, including the father and other family members. In 3%of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment. In 75% of the infants studied, an attachment with the father was found at 18 months old.

Question 20

What is a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s research?

Answer 20

It is now a fairly dated piece of research. Parenting has changed since 1964 and it may be that the father is more likely now to be involved in the care of the child from an early age, which may affect attachment.
However, it might still be the case that the children spend most time with their mother, some children may be raised by the father, e.g., if the mother is the breadwinner in the household and goes to work while the father stays at home for a while to look after the baby.
Children might have 2 primary attachment figures; father and mother.

Question 21

What is the distinctive role of the father in attachment?

Answer 21

Grossman (2002) carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parent’s behaviour and it’s relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens.
They found that the quality of mother-child attachment was important when assessing the quality of attachment into adolescence, this was not the case for father-child attachment, suggesting the role of the father is less important.
However, the quality of father’s play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment, one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with nurturing.

Question 22

What are fathers like as primary caregivers?

Answer 22

There is evidence to suggest that when fathers take on the role of the primary caregiver, for example, if a father stayed at home and the mother went out to work or if the mother was no longer present, they adopt behaviours that are more typical of mothers.
Field (1978) filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interaction with a) primary caregiver mothers, b) secondary caregiver fathers and c) primary caregiver fathers.
Primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants, like the mother does, than the secondary caregiver fathers. This behaviour appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant. So it seems that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure.
So, the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness and not the gender of the parent.

Question 23

What is a limitation of the role of a father?

Answer 23

There is confusion over research this because some research is looking at the role of the father as a primary attachment figure and other research is looking at the father as a secondary attachment figure.
When looking at fathers as a primary attachment figure, research has found that they take on a maternal role.
When looking at fathers as a secondary attachment figure, research has found that they behave differently to mothers and have a distinct role.
This is a problem as there is no simple answer to the question ‘what is the role of the father?’

Question 24

What is another limitation of the role of a father?

Answer 24

Conflicting evidence: If fathers have a distinct role, why aren’t children without fathers different?
Grossman found that fathers as a secondary attachment figure had an important role, which was to provide play and stimulation, not nurturing.
However, other studies have found that children in single parent or same sex parent families don’t develop any differently from those in two parent heterosexual families.
This suggests that the fathers role as a secondary attachment figure is not important. The question about fathers being distinctive remains unanswered. It could also be that children with single/deceased parent or in same-sex family may have adapted or parents accommodate the role of fathers

Question 25

What is a discussion point for the role of a father?

Answer 25

Evolutionary Bias as fathers don’t generally become primary attachments.
Although fathers are more involved in childcare now, it is still a fact that most fathers tend not to become the primary attachment figure, which is probably due to gender roles and evolution as women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men and they want to be the main childcare provider in the home. Therefore fathers feel that they don’t need to act in that way.
It could be biological that female hormones make women more nurturing and they are pre-disposed to being the main carer and men are pre-disposed (due to their hormones) to being the main breadwinner and provider for the family.

Question 26

What is another limitation of the role of a father?

Answer 26

It is a socially sensitive research as it involves working mothers.
When mothers return to work quickly after a child is born the father then might become the primary caregiver this suggests that the child is being put at a disadvantage. This is because the child has less opportunity for reciprocity and interactional synchrony to occur, which may affect the quality of parent-infant attachment.
This could suggest that mothers shouldn’t return to work so soon, but some mothers may have to or want to.

Question 27

What is a strength of the role of a father?

Answer 27

Real world application.
On the contrary, the research showing fathers as primary attachment figures can be applied to put less pressure on Mothers, and fathers can be as involved in parenting as mothers. Mothers can equally contribute to the economy.