Caregiver-infant interactions

• AO1 reciprocity

  Infant and caregiver respond to each other, eliciting a response from both. Alert phases - babies signal they want interaction, mothers pick up on it 2/3 of the the time. After 3 months becomes increasingly frequent, paying close attention to each others verbal and facial signals. Babies are actively involved, can initiate interactions.
• AO1 interactional synchrony

  Infant and caregiver interact so that their actions and emotions mirror the other. Meltzoff and Moore - interactional synchrony in babies recorded and labelled. Expression and gestures mirror adults more than chance would predict. Isabella et al measured interactional synchrony in 30 mothers and infants. They also measured quality of mother-infant attachment. High synchrony associated with stronger attachment.
• AO3 Filmed observations

  Filmed in lab. Observed later, important behaviours not missed. More than one observer - inter-rater reliability. objective measurements. allows for established cause and effect. High internal validity and reliability.
• AO3 Difficulty observing behaviour

  Hard to interpret baby behaviours. Lack coordination and mostly immobile, subtle changes in expression, gesture. For example, difference between smiling and passing wind. Twitch vs response from caregiver. Interactions may not have a special meaning.
• AO3 Developmental importance

  No information into developmental importance. Simply gives names to patterns of observable infant-caregiver interactions. Not useful, no purpose for behaviours given, no effect on development. From interactional synchrony and reciprocity research alone, cannot be certain has any impact on a childs development.

  CP- isabella et al, interactional synchrony predicted good quality attachment, suggests infant-caregiver interactions are important for children development.