Infant-caregiver interaction

• What did Isabella et al (1989) hypothesize about caregiver-baby pairs?

  Secure attachment pairs show more synchronous behavior
• At what ages were the babies observed in Isabella et al's study?

  At 3 and 9 months
• How did the secure group interact according to the results of Isabella et al's study?

  In a well-timed, reciprocal, and mutually rewarding manner
• What characterized the interactions of insecure caregiver-baby pairs?

  Minimally involved, unresponsive, and intrusive
• What type of intrusiveness did avoidant pairs display?

  Maternal intrusiveness and overstimulation
• How were resistant pairs characterized in Isabella et al's study?

  Poorly coordinated, under-involved, and inconsistent
• What conclusion did Isabella and Belsky reach regarding interactional behaviors?

  Different behaviors predicted attachment quality
• What do high levels of synchrony indicate?

  A secure attachment relationship
• Who identified trends in mother-baby interactional synchrony?

  Brazelton (1975)
• What was examined in Brazelton's study?

  Videotapes of mother-baby pairs' play behavior
• Up to what age were the mother-baby pairs observed in Brazelton's study?

  5 months of age
• What were the three phases of play identified by Brazelton?

  Attention and build-up; Recovery; Turning away
• How often were the three phases of play repeated in Brazelton's study?

  At regular intervals over 7 minutes
• What did Brazelton conclude about the three phases of play?

  They demonstrate early signs of organized behavior
• Why was the interaction described as a dance?

  Because actions elicit responses like dancing
• What does reciprocity in caregiver-infant interaction mean?

  One person's actions elicit a response from another
• Who described the interaction as a 'dance'?

  Brazelton et al. (1975)
• What is a strong reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and primary caregiver called?

  Attachment
• How do individuals in an attachment view each other?

  As essential for their emotional security
• What are the key factors in caregiver-infant interactions that influence attachment?

  • Importance of caregiver-infant interactions
  • Maternal sensitivity relates to secure attachment
  • Coordinated interaction is crucial
  • Efficient and mutually satisfying communication
• What is reciprocity in the context of mother-infant interaction?

  Mutual response to each other's signals
• What does interactional synchrony involve between mother and infant?

  Reflecting actions and emotions in a coordinated way
• What was the procedure of the still face experiment?

  1. Mothers play with babies
  2. Mothers show excitement when babies are excited
  3. Mothers maintain a straight face for 2 minutes
• What did babies do in response to the mother's still face in the experiment?

  They tried hard to regain the mother's attention
• What emotional response did babies exhibit during the still face experiment?

  Negative emotions and stress
• What does the still face experiment suggest about infants?

  They can respond to adult emotions
• What did Beebe et al (2010) find about interactions in a lack of secure attachment?

  • Mothers smile after infant distress
  • Mothers do not increase turn-taking
  • Mothers turn away from infant's face
• What is the conclusion from Beebe et al (2010) regarding secure attachment?

  Lack of secure attachment decreases reciprocity
• What was the aim of Meltzoff & Moore (1977) study?

  • To examine interactional synchrony in infants
• What method did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) use in their study?

  Controlled observation of infant responses
• What did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) find regarding infant behavior?

  Association between infant behavior and adult model
• What did later research by Meltzoff & Moore (1977) suggest about interactional synchrony?

  It is innate in infants
• What ethical concern is raised by Meltzoff & Moore (1977) study?

  Potential long-term effects on participants
• Why did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) use a dummy during their study?

  To prevent facial responses from infants
• What happened after the dummy was removed in Meltzoff & Moore (1977) study?

  Infant expressions were filmed
• p difficult to determine what is happening when observing infants

  e Many studies involving observation have shown the same patterns of interaction, but what is being observes is merely hand movement or changes of expression

  e difficult to be certain, what is taking place from the infants perspective, is the imitation of the adults actions conscious or deliberate

  l This means we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in mother-infant interactions have special meaning, as it is difficult to be certain what is taking place from an infant's perspective
• p The tight controls imposed on observational research can be seen as a strength of the methodology

  e Observations of mother-infant interactions are generally well-controlled procedures, with both mother and infant being filmed, often from multiple angles. This ensures that very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed

  e Babies don't know or care that they are being observed so their behaviour does not change in response to controlled observation (generally the main problem for observation research)

  l This is a strength as it means the research has good validity
• p strength of infant caregiver - practical applications

  e Crotwell et al (2013) found that a 10 minute parent child interaction therapy improved interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school children

  e Therefore research in this area has value in the real world and can help parents form stronger attachments to their infants

  l This would have positive implications on the economy since infants who have stronger attachments with their caregivers and therefore more functional members of society, contributing well to the economy
• p One problem with the observational research in this field is that this can lead to researcher bias

  e methodological issues with the use of observational as it can lead to researcher bias, as they could interpret the behaviour both consciously and unconsciously to support their findings

  e Koepke et al (1983) attempted to replicate Meltzoff and Moore's findings, but failed to produce the same results. 

  l This demonstrates the lack of internal validity when using observations to analyse these relationships and the lack of inter-observer reliability
• P A strength into research is that it showed the presence of interactional synchrony

  E Meltzoff and More (1977) controlled observation on children (from 2 weeks old) where adults displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions or a hand gesture and the child's response was filmed and identified by independent observers.

  E found an association between the expression/gesture the adult displayed and the babies actions

  L suggests baby was imitating the adult and that at such a young age suggested that need to form an attachment in an innate behaviour - so must be a universal phenomena