AO3

• What is a strength?(control)

  -research uses well controlled procedures

  -mother infant interactions are usually recorded from multiple angles which means fine details of behaviour can be analysed later

  -therefore this is a strength as it means that the studies have high validity
• what is a weakness?(purpose)

  -Feldman (2012) points out that synchrony and reciprocity simply describe behaviours that happen at the same time.

  -While they can be directly observed they do not tell us the purpose of them

  -therefore researchers have to infer which could lead to researcher bias

  -therefore results are no longer objective and lack validity
• What is another weakness?(social sensitivity)

  -research is socially sensitive

  -it suggests that a child may be disadvantaged by specific child rearing practices as it reduces opportunities for interactional synchrony

  -This has implications as it can lead to judgements being made about sections of society which choose to raise children a certain way
• What is a strength(PCIT)

  -real world application

  -identification of importance of interactional synchrony in developing high quality attachment has lead to the development of Parent-Child interaction Therapy (PCIT)
• What did Crotwell et al (2013) find?

  -10 minutes therapy improved the IS in 20 low income mothers and their preschool infants compared to the control group

  -therefore this kind of research has made a difference in the lives of people
• What is another weakness?(special meaning to behaviours)

  -when observing infant interactions it is difficult to know what is merely a hand movement and what is a direct interaction (Gratier 200)

  -this means we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in mother infant interactions have a special meaning

  -therefore behaviour is open to interpretation which leads to bias lacks objectivity and so validity