caregiver-infant interactions Flashcards
define attachment
a close two-way emotional bond between individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
what are the three indictors of attachment
proximity
separation distress
secure base behaviour
define reciprocity
a description of how two people interact
caregiver is reciprocal in that both caregiver and baby respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other
what is proximity
desire to stay close to attachment figure
what is separation distress
signs of anxiety when attachment figure leaves
what is secure base behaviour
making regular contact with attachment figure
what is caregiver infant interactions
form the basis of attachment between an infant and caregiver
the manner in which each responds to the other that determines the formation of attachment
the more sensitive each is to the other’s signals, the deeper the relationship
two key types of interaction
1. reciprocity
2. interactional synchrony
what is reciprocity
a form of interaction between two people in which each person responds to the actions and emotions of the other for the purposes of pleasurable communication
when is it reciprocal
when it occurs in a sequence [action followed by reaction]
the needs of the mother and baby are met e.g. baby is unhappy and cries - mother responds with an appropriate response e.g. hugging satisfies the need for comfort and the mother’s need to console has also been met
what role does the baby play in caregiver and infant interactions
an active one
what are alert phases
times for interaction
babies signal readiness for interaction during alert phases
mothers respond 2/3 of the time [feldman and eidelman 2007] depending on the skills and stress levels [finegood et al 2016]
interactions become more frequent at three months [feldman 2007]
who described the interaction as a ‘dance’ where each person responds to the others ‘move’
brazelton et al 1975
what is interactional synchrony
caregiver and infant simultaenously reflect each other’s actions and emotions
who defined interactional synchrony as ‘temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour’
feldman 2007
when does interactional synchrony begin? include the study
A: meltzoff and moore (1977) observed interactional synchrony in 2 week old babies
P :adults displayed one of the three facial expressions or gestures, which infant responses were filmed and categorised by independent observers
F : they found that babies expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of adults more than chance would predict
C: association between the expression or gesture and infant action
how do reciprocity and interactional synchrony overlap
any interaction that has interactional synchrony has reciprocity
what is the importance for attachment
P: Isabella et al (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants to access the degree of synchrony between them and the quality of infant-mother attachment
F: high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment [e.g. emotional intensity of the relationship]
E : important evidence for the use of synchrony being useful in the development of mother-infant attachment
how is reciprocity and interactional synchrony different
interactional synchrony : tells us about quality and richness of an interaction
reciprocity : tells us it is two-way, turn taking
strengths of caregiver infant interaction
P : carried out and filmed in a laboratory
E : Meltzoff and Moore (1977) carried out an observation in a laboratory, with adults and their babies. adults displayed one of three facial/ gestures and the babies’ reaction were recorded and labelled by independent observers
A: This means that filmed observations can be analysed by more than one observer, increasing the inter-rater reliability. Babies also do not know they were being observed, so their behaviour does not change in response to this observation, there are no demand characteristics
C: Therefore, observations into caregiver-infant interactions provide reliable knowledge of attachment
E: this matters because we can use this observation to improve the attachment between caregivers and infants, strengthening their bonds.
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P : important real-life application in parenting skills training
E : e.g. Crotwell et al (2013) found that the development of parent-child interaction therapy which has been shown to increase interactional synchrony in 20 low income families
A : this means that it provides strategies to assist families in increasing the likelihood of secure attachment in children
C: therefore, caregiver-infant interactions has high ecological validity in society
E : this matters because research into caregiver infant interactions has made a valuable contribution to Psychology’s aim to improve peoples lives
limitations of caregiver-infant interactions
P : It can be argued that a baby’s behaviour is hard to interpret
E : This is because they have a lack of co-ordination and movements observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression. e.g. a smile may indicate passing wind rather than an expression of emotion
A : This means that behaviours may not be meaningful which reduces the internal validity of the results
C : therefore, it is difficult to determine the meaning of behaviours observed in caregiver-infant interactions
E : this matters because this study may not be the best at supporting caregiver-infant interactions
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P : research into caregiver-infant interactions fails to account for its developmental importance
E : Feldman (2012) pointed out that concepts like synchrony only assigns names to observable caregiver and infant interactions
A : This means it may not be useful as it does not tell us the purpose of such behaviours
C : Therefore, observational research alone cannot ascertain the importance of reciprocity and interactional synchrony for the child’s development
E : This matter because it means that we need more evidence with explain why caregiver-infant interactions is important for the development of infants.
CP
P : evidence for developmental importance of such interactions
E : Isabella et al (1989) found an association between the intensity of interactional synchrony and subsequent quality of attachment
A : This means that these two behaviours may be beneficial effect on the infant’s quality of attachment, which has been shown to affect subsequent relationships
C : Therefore, research has shown that caregiver- infant interactions may enhance the stability of social structures
E : This matters because it will have positive economic implications like active participation on the economy, benefitting to the GDP and personal well-being, bringing less stress to the NHS.
