Caregiver-infant interactions Flashcards
What is an attachment?
A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals, in which each see each other as essential for emotional security
What does Altricial mean?
a being that is born helpless e.g humans
What does reciprocity entail?
Similar to a conversation, is a mutual turn-taking form of interaction. Both caregiver and infant contribute to the interaction by responding to the others signals and cues
What does interactional synchrony entail?
A simultaneous interaction between infant and caregiver who appear to be acting rhythmically, with matching coordinated behaviour and matching social states
what are some attachment behaviours?
proximity seeking
separation anxiety
secure-base behaviour
What is proximity seeking?
staying physically close o an attachment figure
What is separation anxiety?
being upset when attachment figure leaves
What is secure-base behaviour?
regularly returning to attachment figure following exploration/play
What are the two main caregiver-infant interactions?
reciprocity
interactional synchrony
What are alert phases?
the baby signalling that they are ready for a spell of interaction. caregiver can pick up on this and respond around 2 thirds of the time
What is active involvement?
babies as well as caregivers can initiate and take an active roll in play
Outline research into care-giver infant interactions?
Meltzoff and Moore observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks old. An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures. The babies response was filmed and labelled by independent observers, babies expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults more than chance would predict this meaning that there is a significant association between the adult doing the gesture and the babies following it
What is a strength about research into caregiver-infant interactions?
P-A strength of research into infant-caregiver interactions is that they are usually aimed in laboratory.
E-This means that other things like family members, toys or just everyday life things that might distract the baby from the research task. Also, using films during observations means that the interrupter reliability can be established as other psychologists can watch the infants behaviour and record what they see and then check if it matches with the initial thoughts. finally, the infants are not aware that they are being observed and so do not change behaviour so demand characteristics don’t play a part.
C-This showcases that research into infant-caregiver interactions within a lab is high in both reliability and validity.
What is a limitation of research into infant-caregiver interactions?
P-One limitation of research into infant-caregiver interactions is that simply observing behaviour does not tell us of its developmental importance.
E-Ruth Feldman found that ideas like synchrony (and so reciprocity) simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and infant behaviours. These are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed, but they still may not be particularly useful in understanding child development as it does not tell us the reason behind these behaviours.
C-this means that we cannot be certain from observational research that infant-caregiver interactions are necessary for good infant development.
CP-However there has been evidence from other studies that suggest that early interactions are important. For example, Isabella et al found that achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of a good quality attachment. This means that on average an establishment of interaction between infant and caregiver leads to a good attachment developing.
What is a limitation of research into Infant-caregiver interactions ?
P-Another limitation of infant-caregiver interactions is the questionable reliability of testing children.
E-infants wave their arms and mouths around constantly and sometimes for no reason. This means that investigators have to look to the slight movements or facial expressions and make inferences into what they mean. This can be difficult as we do not know what is happening inside the baby’s mind. For example, we cannot be sure that the child is crying because they can’t see their caregiver or if they are hungry.
C-This means that we cannot be sure if there are certain behaviours shown in infant-caregiver interactions have special meaning.
