Caregiver-infant interactions

Question 1

What two behaviours/responses do attachments have between the infant/caregiver?

Answer 1

• Reciprocity
• Interactional synchrony

Question 2

Define reciprocity?

Answer 2

• Interaction between caregiver & infant which is mutually responsive
• Communication of signals which elicit responses in the other (baby cries parents sooths)
• When caregiver fails to respond, infant is confused & upset
• Suggest reciprocity is important in developing attachment

Question 3

Define interactional synchrony?

Answer 3

• Interactions between caregiver & infant are synchronised
• Responses reflect each other, in time to sustain communication
• Infant smiles so parent smiles (mirroring)

Question 4

Maccoby (1980) 4 key behaviours to show attachment?

Answer 4

1. Seeking proximity by child & PAF
   - Infant will stay close to the caregiver
2. Distress of Separation (separation anxiety)
   - Both caregiver & infant will demonstrate distress if separated
3. Pleasure when reunited
   - Will be obvious signs of pleasure from both infant/PAF when reunited
4. General orientation of behaviour towards PAF
   - Infant & caregiver direct attention to each other (gazing at one another)

Question 5

AO3 caregiver-infant
Research support?
Tronick (1975)

Answer 5

P - Tronick (1975) evidence to support concept of reciprocity from the ‘still face’ experiment
E - Found: after 3 mins of attempted interaction with non-responsive, expressionless mother, infants became wary
E - When interaction stops, the mutual pattern is disrupted resulting in infant detaching from the mother
L - Supports importance of reciprocity in developing attachment relationships

Question 6

AO3 caregiver-infant
Research support?
Meltzoff & Moore (1977)

Answer 6

P - Meltzoff & More (1977) found evidence to support interactional synchrony
E - Found: Infants (aged 2-3 weeks) could imitate both facial & manual gestures
E - Shows ability to imitate is present at birth
L - Fosters support for interactional synchrony in infants

Question 7

AO3 caregiver-infant
Practical applications?

Answer 7

P - Practical applications from Tronick’s (1975) ‘still face’ experiment
E - The procedure can be used to measure atypical development in children
E - If children don’t show distress, maybe further investigations can be carried out to find out why they are not distressed
L - Suggests help could be provided to help kids & their PAF, aiding their relationship then & in the future

Question 8

AO3 caregiver-infant
Incomplete explanation?

Answer 8

P - Explanation may be incomplete in understanding care-giver interaction
E - Focus on how ONE caregiver interacts with an infant which is not applicable to modern society
E - e.g. caregivers (fathers/grandparents) can play roles in attachment development
- so the explanation is not reflective of human attachment relationships
L - Implies infant-caregiver interactions are complex & should include the number of attachment r’ships an infant can have