caregiver-infant interactions & attachment figures Flashcards
what is reciprocity?
when each person responds eliciting a response from the other
when did Feldman find that carer-infant interactions begin to have reciprocity?
around 3 months old interactions become more frequent and involve verbal and facial expressions from both sides
what is interactional synchrony?
the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviors
How did Meltzoff and Moore observe interactional synchrony?
in children as young as 2 weeks old adults displayed 1 of 3 facial features and the infants response was filmed and assessed by independent observers, and they found there was a association between the adults and the infants actions
how did Isabella et al observe interactional synchrony?
they observed 30 mothers and infants and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachment, they found that the better the quality attachments were associated with higher levels of synchrony
at what age did schaffer and emerson find the majority of infants for primary attachments?
7 months old
how did Grossman investigate the role of the father?
he conducted a longitudinal study looking at parent’s behavior and it’s relationship to the quality of a child’s attachment in their teens?
what did Grossman find when investigating the role of the father?
the quality of attachment to the mother was related tot the child’s attachment in adolescence, whilst the quality of the fathers play with the child was related to the quality of adolescent attachment , so the fathers role in attachment is to stimulate
What happens when a father takes on the role of primary carer?
they become more maternal
What did Tiffany field find when investigating the role of fathers as primary carers?
fathers who were primary carers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding the infant illustrating the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
what are some of the problems observing attachment in infants?
we cannot asses what takes place from the infant perspective
we do not know the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity as they are only behaviors
behavior towards playmates is similar to that towards carers
what are the strengths of observing infants?
observations are generally well controlled and infant will not display demand characteristics
why do MacCallum and Golombok argue the role of the father is not important?
as children growing up without a father do not develop differently to children growing up with a father
Why are fathers not generally the primary carers?
traditional gender roles, biological factors
Why is research into the roles of carers socially sensitive?
it may suggest some children may be at a disadvantage, expressively those whose mothers return to work early restricting the possibility of interactions
