caregiver infant interactions epqs

Question 1

What is meant by the term attachment?
(Total 2 marks)

Answer 1

Attachment is a strong, enduring, emotional and reciprocal bond between two people,
especially an infant and caregiver.

Question 2

Briefly evaluate research into caregiver-infant interaction.
(Total 4 marks)

Answer 2

• babies cannot communicate so inferences must be drawn
• well-controlled – studies ‘capture’ micro-sequences of interaction
• practical issues – babies are often asleep or being fed
• issue of intentionality – are imitative behaviours deliberate/conscious?
• some studies have failed to replicate earlier findings, eg Koepke et al (1983)
• research may be socially sensitive, eg implications for working mothers
• economic implications of research
• contribution to understanding the importance of care-giver infant interaction.

Question 3

Some researchers believe that caregiver–infant interactions influence the development of
attachment.
Explain one reason why it is difficult to draw conclusions about the role of caregiver–infant
interactions in the development of attachment.
(Total 2 marks)

Answer 3

cannot ever show cause and effect because it is ethically impossible
to manipulate the amount / quality of caregiver-infant interaction; extraneous factors
such as home environment / substitute care / life events / culture / temperament
may have a long term effect on attachment and cannot be controlled.

Question 4

Name three of the stages of attachment identified by Schaffer.
(Total 3 marks)

Answer 4

asocial/pre-attachment stage
* indiscriminate/diffuse attachment/stage
* the beginnings of attachment/attachment in the making
* specific/discriminate attachment/stage
* multiple attachment/stage

Question 5

What is meant by ‘reciprocity’ in the context of caregiver-infant interaction?
(Total 2 marks)

Answer 5

Reciprocity – caregiver-infant interaction is a two-way/mutual process; each party
responds to the other’s signals to sustain interaction (turn-taking). The behaviour of
each party elicits a response from the other

Question 6

Read the item and then answer the question that follows.
Proud father Abdul was talking to his friend, as they were both watching Abdul’s
wife, Tasneem, interacting with their baby daughter, Aisha.
‘It’s amazing really’, said Abdul. ‘Tasneem smiles, Aisha smiles back. Tasneem
moves her head, Aisha moves hers, perfectly in time with each other.’
‘Yes’, agreed the friend. ‘It’s almost as if they are one person.’
With reference to Abdul’s conversation with his friend, outline two features of
caregiver-infant interaction.
(Total 4 marks)

Answer 6

• interactional synchrony – adults and babies respond in time to sustain
  communication
• reciprocity / turn-taking – interaction flows both ways between adult and infant
• imitation – infant mimics / copies the adult’s behaviour
• sensitive responsiveness – adult attends sensitively to infant’s
  communications.

Question 7

Answer 7

d

Question 8

Answer 8

a