infant-caregiver interactions

• What is attachment defined as?

  A close emotional relationship between two people
• What characterizes attachment?

  Mutual affection and desire for proximity
• What are the three behaviors of attachment according to Maccoby?

  Seeking proximity, distress in separation, joy in reunion
• What does reciprocity involve in caregiver-infant interactions?

  Mutual responsiveness between infant and caregiver
• How might a parent demonstrate reciprocity with their baby?

  By singing to elicit a smile from the baby
• What is the process of reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?

  • Mutual responsiveness
  • Both infant and caregiver respond to signals
  • Interaction flows back and forth
  • Babies have active involvement
• What is the 'still face' study about?

  A study observing infant reactions to unresponsive caregivers
• What happens to the baby during the 'still face' study?

  The baby initially shows confusion and then distress
• What does interactional synchrony involve?

  Mirroring of facial and body movements between infant and caregiver
• Who conducted the first observational study of interactional synchrony?

  Melzoff and Moore
• What did Melzoff and Moore find about infants and imitation?

  Infants as young as two weeks imitate gestures
• What was the method used in Melzoff and Moore's study?

  Infants observed after seeing adult facial expressions
• What is a strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions?

  Controlled observations reduce distractions for babies
• Why is it a limitation to interpret a baby's behavior?

  Babies lack coordination for subtle expressions
• What did Schaffer & Emmerson study focus on?

  Attachment stages in infants from Glasgow
• How many infants were involved in Schaffer & Emmerson's study?

  60 infants
• What age range did the infants in Schaffer & Emmerson's study cover?

  5 to 23 weeks
• What was the key finding regarding separation anxiety in infants?

  50% showed separation anxiety by 25-32 weeks
• What are the stages of attachment according to Schaffer & Emmerson?

  1. Asocial stage (birth - 2 months)
  2. Indiscriminate attachment (2 - 6 months)
  3. Specific attachment (6 - 12 months)
  4. Multiple attachments (12 months onwards)
• What characterizes the asocial stage of attachment?

  Infants react favorably to various stimuli
• What happens during the indiscriminate attachment stage?

  Infants prefer human company but show no anxiety
• What is a key behavior in the specific attachment stage?

  Separation anxiety towards one caregiver
• What occurs in the multiple attachments stage?

  Attachment behaviors are shown towards several people
• What influences the number of multiple attachments formed?

  The infant's social circle exposure