Caregiver- Infant Interactions

• What is reciprocity?

  When each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
• What is an example of reciprocity?

  A baby may smile to which the caregiver says something as a response which elicits a response from the baby.
• What does reciprocity involve?

  • Alert phases
  • Active Involvement
• Reciprocity- Alert Phases


  • Babies signal when they’re ready for an interaction
  • Feldman and Eidelman found 2/3rds of the time caregivers notice and respond to alerts
  • Feldman also found by 3 months both the baby and mother show increasing signs of this
• Reciprocity- Active Involvement 


  • Both mother and baby play active roles ( can both initiate interactions)
  • Brazelton et al described interactions as a dance where each partner responds to the other
• What is international synchrony

  When they carry out the same action

  simultaneously

  When caregiver and babys actions and emotions directly mirror one another
• Meltzoff and Moore


  • As young as the baby being 2 weeks old, adults displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions and 1 of 3 gestures
  • Filmed babies reactions - often gestures and expressions would mirror each other
  • Isabella et al found this was important for better quality later attachment
• EVALUATION 1

  STRENGTH- All research usually carried out in a lab. This meant distractions to the baby were eliminated increasing the control. Filming the study meant reactions could be later observed and analysed. Can record inter rater reliability increasing credibility and validity etc.
• EVALUATION 2 


  LIMITATION- It is difficult to interpret a baby’s behaviour. Babies at a young age are immobile and they lack coordination. Example- a small hand movement could be a twitch rather than a gesture or response. Reduced the certainty of reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
• EVALUATION 3


  LIMITATION- socially sensitive. If a baby doesn’t show hightened signs of reciprocity and international synchrony then this research could cause a mother to believe their future quality of attachment will be lower. Also deterministic as assumes low levels of these reduce quality.