Caregiver-infant Interactions Flashcards
What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity is when people respond to each other and it elicits a response from the another person
What is an alert phase?
Babies have periodic “alert phases” when they signal (eye contact) that they are ready to interact
What did Feldman and Eiselman say about periodic Alertness (2007)
They said mother pick upon this alertness 2/3 of the time, varying depending on skill of the mother and external factors (stress)
What did Brazelton say about interactions and how did this change how a babies role was shown previously?
Brazelton described interaction as a “dance”, you respond to someone’s moves. Babies formerly played a passive role in receiving care from an adult, they as well as caregivers also take an active role.
What is interactional synchrony?
International synchrony is when caregivers and baby act in a way which means their actions and emotions mirror the other.
Who suggested when Interactional synchrony took place?
Meltzoff and Moore (1977)
What did Meltzoff and Moore find?
They observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as two weeks. An adult displayed 3 facial expressions or gestures, babies response was filmed. They found their actions mirrored the adult.
Who researched interactional synchrony’s importance for development of attachment?
Isabella et al (1989)
What did Isabella et al research and find?
She observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed degree of synchrony, they also assessed quality of mother-baby attachment. They found high levels of synchrony were associated with better attachments between mother and baby.
Evaluation for Isabella et al (brief)
- Use of filmed observations
-Difficulty observing babies
-Doesn’t explain developmental importance
Evaluation for Isabella et al (Detailed)
One strength is that caregiver- infant interactions are usually filmed in a laboratory. This means external factors distracted a baby at limited, and it can also be recorded and analysed later. Unlikely for researcher to miss key behaviour. Inter-rater reliability. Babies not aware being observed, so their behaviour doesn’t change (co-vert). Good reliability and validity.
One limitation is it’s hard to interpret a babies behaviour. Young babies lack coordination and a lot of their body is immobile. The subtle hand movements and change in expression is difficult to read such as, whether a hand twitch is random or triggered by caregiver. This lack certainty and reliability of the research.
Another limitation is observing behaviour does not show importance in development. Feldman (2012) suggests synchrony simply gives names and does not show the true importance in behaviours like this for development. COUNTER: Isabella et al (1989) shows interaction synchrony predicted the development of good attachment. Balancing the two ideas caregiver- infant interaction is probably important.
