Caregiver-Infant Interactions

• What are the two processes involved in how infants learn to interact with people?

  Interactional Synchrony and Reciprocity
• What distinguishes Interactional Synchrony from Reciprocity?

  • Interactional Synchrony: Happens simultaneously, emotions mirrored
  • Reciprocity: Happens one at a time, emotions responded to
• At what age did Meltzoff & Moore find babies can imitate gestures?

  2 weeks old
• What does the study by Meltzoff & Moore (1977) refer to?


  Interactional Synchrony
• What did Feldman & Eidelman (2007) find about mothers' responses to their babies?

  Mothers responded reciprocally 1/3 of the time
• What does the study by Feldman & Eidelman (2007) refer to?

  Reciprocity
• What did Isabella et al (1989) find regarding maternal care and synchrony?

  Better maternal care linked to higher synchrony
• What does the study by Isabella et al (1989) refer to?

  Interactional Synchrony
• What are the advantages of filmed observations in caregiver-infant interactions?

  • Control of distracting activities
  • Allows later analysis by researchers
  • Establishes inter-observer reliability
  • Enhances reliability and validity of data
• What does research support suggest about early interactions?

  They are important for development
• What did Isabella et al (1989) find about international synchrony?

  It predicted good quality attachment
• What are the difficulties in observing babies during interactions?

  • Small hand movements and subtle expressions
  • Hard to determine baby's perspective
  • Uncertainty about the meaning of behaviors
• What does Feldman (2012) suggest about synchrony in child development?

  It names observable behavior patterns
• What does observational research alone fail to confirm about reciprocity and synchrony?

  They are important for child development
• What is a strength of Caregiver-Infant Interactions?

  • Filmed Observations
  • Activity that might distract a baby can be controlled as caregiver-infant interactions are usually filmed in a lab
  • Having filmed interactions can also allow it to be analysed later and by other researchers, allowing inter-rater reliability to be established
  • Therefore, data collected in such research should have good reliability and validity
• What is a strength in Caregiver-Infant Interactions?

  • Research Support
  • There is evidence from research to suggest that early interactions are important
  • Isabella et al (1989) found that achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of a good quality attachment
  • This means that caregiver-infant interaction is important in development
• What is a limitation in Caregiver-Infant Interactions?

  • Difficulty Observing Babies
  • The movements being observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression
  • It is difficult to determine what is taking place from the baby’s perspective
  • This means we cannot be certain that the behaviours seen in caregiver-infant interactions have a special meaning
• What is a limitation in Caregiver-Infant Interactions?

  • Developmental Importance
  • Feldman (2012) points out that ideas like synchrony simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours
  • These may not be particularly useful in understanding child development as it does not tell us the purpose of these behaviours
  • This means that we cannot be certain from observational research alone that reciprocity and synchrony are important for a child’s development