L1 - caregiver-infant interactions

Question 1

what is an attachment

Answer 1

an emotional bond between two people
two-way process that endures over time

Question 2

what is reciprocity

Answer 2

two-way mutual process
the behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other

Question 3

what is interactional synchrony

Answer 3

when adults and babies respond in time to sustain communication

Question 4

2 strengths of caregiver infant interactions

Answer 4

• murray and trevarthen - mothers interact with babies over video monitor, babies played a tape of mother so she wasn’t responding, babies attract mothers attention but didn’t respond when they failed, so babies want mothers to reciprocate
• abravanal and deyong - infant behaviour when interacting with a puppet that looked like a human, infant made little response so they don’t just imitate what they see, interaction synchrony is a specific social response

Question 5

2 weaknesses of caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 5

• babies cannot use language so reliant on inferences
• expressions tested are ones which infants frequently make so may not have been deliberately imitating what they saw

Question 6

what are the difficulties investigating caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 6

• babies behaviours are stronger in lab settings than in home environments, so should take place in natural setting to increase validity
• observational so biased, countered by multiple observers (inter-rather reliability)
• practical issues, infants often fall asleep
• extra care in relation to ethics - protection from harm, confidentiality