caregiver - infant interactions

• attachment

  close and emotional relationship between an infant and its caregiver. attached infants show a desire to be close to their main caregiver and appear distressed when separated
• schaffer and emerson - attachment

  • 60 babies at monthly intervals for first 18 months of their lives (longitudinal study), studied in their own home (ecological validity)
  • interactions with carers were observed (observational research) and carers were interviewed, diary was kept by mother to examine evidence , 3 measures recorded
  • stranger anxiety (response to arrival of a stranger)
  • separation anxiety (distress level when separated from carer and degree of comfort needed on return
  • social referencing (degree child looks up to carer to check how they should respond to something new)
• schaffer and emerson - findings 


  • asocial (0-6 weeks) - show no preference for humans over objects
  • indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks-7 months) - prefer familiar adults but any human will do
  • specific attachment (7-9 months) - object permanence develops - understanding things still exist even when they are not visible
  • multiple attachment (10 months +) - gain attachments to people they spend time with
  • attachments likely to form with those responding accurately to babys signals, not who they spent most time with
  • its not who feeds and changes child but who plays and communicates with them
• schaffer and emerson - evaluation


  + high ecological validity - longitudinal study, were studied in their own home, higher chances of natural behaviour (naturalistic)

  ~ limited sample - 60 all from same part of Glasgow, not representative

  ~ risk of bias - parents keep diaries, may not write down negative behaviour, risk of being judged

  ~ culturally biased - all completed in same place, some cultures vary in parenting styles, in some the father / extended fam / nannies are primary caregiver
• reciprocity


  • 2 way, mutual, turn taking
  • both active contributors and respond to eachother
• interactional synchrony 


  • imitating in a synchronised way, mirroring the other
  • infants as young as 2/3 weeks will do this