Caregiver-Infant Interactions

• Caregiver-Infant interactions refers to the reciprocal relationship between an infant and their caregiver.
• One of the key interactions between the caregiver and infant are their non-verbal communications (eye-contact, touch, movement etc).
• Non-verbal communications between caregiver and infant are such interactions that form the basis of attachment development.
• The more sensitive, intuitive & connected these interactions are (from both caregiver & infant), the better the relationship is likely to be.
• Communication between carer- infant pairs is rich & complex, and the aim of these types of interactions is to ensure they continue, therefore building an attachment.
• Imitation= copying another person & is one of the most basic forms of social behaviour.
• To be able to imitate their caregiver, the infant needs to be able to relate to the actions of other people and coordinate their own behaviours in response.
• If tiny infant able to imitate their caregiver, then this may form the basis for further interactions and attachment formation.
• Reciprocity= both infant & caregiver are active contributors in the interaction and are responding to each other- mutual & more than mere imitation.
• Reciprocity example: infant (lacking speech) responds to the caregiver's facial expressions & voice etc, and in turn the adult responds to the reactions of the infant.
• Interactional Synchrony= infant & caregiver's behaviours & emotions are synchronised because they are moving in the same/ similar pattern.
• In Interactional Synchrony, the interaction is rhythmic and can include infant & caregiver mirroring each other's behaviours and emotions. The caregiver & infant will often appear in harmony (eg infant coos and the mother will make soothing non-verbal responses).
• Evaluation- strength:

  • Evidence for existence of the C-I interactions.
  • Interactional Synchrony- Condon & Sander (1974) completed frame by frame analysis of films of babies' movements to sound recordings of adult conversation.
  • Found that babies would coordinate their actions in time with adult speech, moving in time with the rhythm of the convo and taking turns to contribute to the interaction- lends credibility.
• Evaluation- strength:

  • Evidence for existence of C-I interactions- imitation- Meltzoff & Moore (1977) conducted a study when an experimenter sat infront of tiny infants between 12 & 21 days old and performed 1 of 4 movements:
  • Sticking tongue out, opening his mouth, pursing his lips & moving his fingers.
  • Results: even the youngest infants replicated facial expressions.
• Evaluation- strength:

  • Evidence for existence of C-I interactions- reciprocity- Murray & Travor (1985) deliberately interfered with this interactional turn-taking, by getting mothers to adopt a 'frozen face' expression with their babies.
  • Babies showed serious distress by turning away from their mothers' face & crying.
  • Moreover, infants made deliberate attempts to draw the mother back into the interaction, suggesting that the infant is an active & intentional partner in the communication.
• Evaluation- strength:

  • Evidence that these C-I interactions form the basis of attachment- Isabella et al (1989) found that securely attached mother- infant pairs were those who had shown more instances of interactional synchrony in home observations during the first year.
  • Ainsworth et al (1974) stated that it is the sensitivity or responsiveness with which the caregiver reacts to their infant that predicts the quality of later attachment, ie quality is even more important than quantity- called 'sensitivity hypothesis'.
• • Imitation, reciprocity & interactional synchrony are overlapping concepts; though no words may be uttered (on the infant's part), this two-way interaction has 2 active contributors (reciprocity), who understand each others' actions (shown in imitation).
  • The interactions will be rhythmic & mutual (interactional synchrony).