both caregiver and baby respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other
Interactional synchrony
Caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a synchronised way
Experiment to see when synchrony begins:
Meltzoff and Moore (1977): observed interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks. Adult displayed one of 3 facial expressions and gestures. Babies likely to mirror the adult.
Experiment to see the importance of attachment (interactional synchrony)
Isabella et al (1989): observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed degree of synchrony. They also assessed the quality of mother- baby attachment. High levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment
Strengths and weaknesses of caregiver-infant experiments
+ filmed in a laboratory so other activity that can distract the baby can be controlled
+ can be filmed so researchers won't miss any details
+ babies don’t know they are being observed
All of these lead to good reliability and validity
