Caregiver Infant Interactions Flashcards
Attachment
Attachment is an emotional tie or bond between two people. The relationship is shared which means by two way.
What behaviors are shown in attachment?
Proximity seeking - people try to stay physically close to those whom they are attached to
Separation distress - people are upset when an attachment figure leaves their presence.
Secure base relationship - people tend to make regular contact with caregivers despite being independent. Infants show this when playing and returning back to their caregiver promoting security.
What has effects on the attachment formed?
The responsiveness of the caregiver to the infants signals that has profound effects on the attachment formed. This is also seen to be important for a child’s social development.
What is reciprocity ?
How to people interact. A form of caregiver interactions which involve mutual responsiveness . Both the infant and caregiver respond to each other signals and each elicit a response from each other. The actions displayed by the baby or caregiver do not need to be the same. e.g smiling.
Condon and sander - Research supporting the idea that infants display reciprocity.
What is interactional synchrony?
Where an infant mirrors the actions and emotions of their caregiver and vice versa. It is a direct response and occurs very quickly. The actions displayed by both infant and caregiver are the same and occur at the same time.
Meltzoff and Moore - supporting evidence for interactional synchrony
Isabella et Al - supporting evidence for caregiver infant interactions
Difficulties investigating caregiver infant interactions:
- infants may be asleep during studies
- context affecting behavior = rather than doing it in an unnatural environment do it in a natural environment like a home instead of a clinical environment.
- approval may be needed from parents as participants are babies and therefore it can be seen as unethical
