caregiver-infant interactions Flashcards
1
Q
reciprocity basis
A
- babies and mothers or caregivers spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interaction
- interactions show reciprocity when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
- also called turn-taking, essential part of any conversation otherwise people talk over each other
2
Q
reciprocity - alert phases
A
- babies have alert phases during which they signal (eye contact etc) that they are ready for interaction
- mothers typically pick up on and respond to this alertness 2/3 of the time, however varies due to mothers’ factors such as levels of stress etc.
- from 3 months this interaction becomes more frequent, mothers and babies will pay close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions
- babies will develop schemas quite quickly, for example understanding that when they cry they get fed or cuddled
- babies produce interactions to elicit a response from caregiver who can respond to needs, these are called social releases
3
Q
reciprocity - active involvement
A
- traditional values portray babies to receive care from adults, however seems that babies as well as adults take place in an active role
- both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions, take turns in doing so
- T. Berry Brazelton described this interaction as a ‘dance’ because each partner responds to the other’s moves
4
Q
interactional synchrony basis
A
- two people are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same action simultaneously
- interactional synchrony is defined as ‘the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour’ (Feldman)
- takes place when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other
5
Q
interactional synchrony - synchrony begins (meltzoff and moore)
A
- Meltzoff and Moore observed beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks old
- an adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures, and baby’s response was observed and labelled
- babies’ expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults, more than chance would predict (significant association)
6
Q
interactional synchrony - importance for attachment (Isabella et al)
A
- Isabella observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed degree of synchrony, aswell as quality of mother-baby attachment
- found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment, eg. the emotional intensity of the relationship
7
Q
evaluation strength - filmed observations
A
- interactions usually filmed in a laboratory
- means that other activity that may distract a baby can be controlled, and means that observations can be recorded and later analysed
- unlikely that researchers will miss any key behaviours
- babies also don’t know that they are being observed so behaviours are natural responses
- increased validity and reliability
- other researchers can look at footage (inter observer reliability)
- standardised procedures
8
Q
evaluation limitation - difficulty observing babies
A
- hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour
- young babies lack co-ordination and much of their bodies are almost immobile, meaning that observed movements are often just hand gestures or subtle expression changes
- hard to know the cause of any observed actions, so we cannot be certain that behaviours seen have a special meaning
- we have to make an inference
9
Q
evaluation strength - still face experiment (brazelton et al)
A
- begin by having parents playing with babies a lot
- then turn away, and turn back completely emotionless and look at babies like this for 2 minutes
- babies start to cry, babble, reach out and smile to regain interaction, and start looking for someone else to give them attention
- when caregiver began interacting again, baby immediately became happy and playful again
- shows that when babies have no interaction, it can have negative effects even after just 2 minutes
