caregiver - infant interactions

• define attachment?

  • a strong enduring emotional bond between 2 people in which each seeks closeness & feels more secure when in presence of attachment figure
  • reciprocal
• 3 characteristics of attachment?

  1. proximity
  2. separation distress
  3. secure base behaviour
• proximity?

  • when infants try stay physically close to those whom they are attached to
• separation distress?

  • infants are distressed when attachment figure leaves their presence
• secure base behaviour?

  • even when we are independent of our attachment figures we tend to make regular contact with them
• define reciprocity?

  • when infant responds to action of another person/action of infant elicits response from another - turn taking
• define interactional synchrony?

  • mother & infant reflect both actions & emotions of the other in a coordinated way - mirroring actions of another person
• reciprocity - jaffe 1973?

  • showed that infants coordinated their actions with caregivers in a kind of convo
  • from birth babies move in a rhythm when interacting with adult almost as if taking turns
  • from around 3 months interaction tends to be frequent & involves close attention to each others verbal signals & facial expressions
  • interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to other & elicits a response from them
  • helps to reinforce attachment bond
• interactional synchrony - meltzoff & moore 1977?

  • aim - examine cg infant interactions
  • method - observed beginnings of i.s in infants as young as 2 weeks
  • adult displayed 1/3 facial expressions or 1/3 distinctive gestures
  • childs response was filmed & identified by independent observers
  • found association between expression adult had displayed & actions of baby
• 3 X of caregiver - infant interactions?

  1. problems with testing infant behaviour
  2. culturally biased research
  3. observations describe behaviour do not explain from feldman 2012
• 2 * of caregiver - infant interactions?

  1. research conducted using controlled observations
  2. evidence to suggest imitative behaviour forms basis for social development from meltzoff 2005
• X problem testing infant behaviour?

  • infants mouth are in constant motion
  • expressions tested for may be confused with other movements rather than synchrony
  • e.g tongue thrust reflex babies are born with includes sticking tongue out
  • difficult to distinguish between general physical activity & imitation
  • ? internal
  • not certain these expressions are in direct response to cg
  • cannot accurately measure extent to which they reinforce att bond due to confounding variables
• X culturally bias research?

  • reciprocity & i.s found in western cultures
  • e.g reported that kenyan mothers have little interaction with their kids but still go onto form normal att
  • ? population
  • these cg interaction not essential for att in all countries
  • findings cannot be generalised to att in wider population
• * research used controlled observations?

  • observations of mother - infant interactions well controlled & filmed so fine details can be recorded & analysed
  • babies do not know they are being observed/understand purpose of research so behaviour is natural
  • reliable & valid
  • rm used are well controlled & standardised
  • allows for replicability
  • nature of sample means no risk of dcs influencing results
  • increases ecological validity
• X observations do not explain behaviour?

  • feldman 2012 points out that r & i.s simply describe behaviours that occur
  • does not tell us purpose of these behaviours that babies demonstrate
  • ? internal
  • observational methods used to identify these interactions do not explain why infant behaves this way
  • cannot establish cause & effect relationship between infants behaviour & formation of att bond
• * imitative behaviour forms basis for social development

  • meltzoff 2005 believes that by imitating cg behaviour associating their own actions with this behaviour & then projecting their internal experiences onto others infants begin to understand mental state of others
  • reseach into r & i.s explains how children begin to understand what others think & feel
  • fundamental for conducting social relationship
  • evidence to support that these aspects of cg infant interactions are essential for forming & reinforcing att bond