caregiver-infant interactions

• Are humans altricial or precocial ?

  Altricial
• What are babies born with?

  primitive reflexes

  eg sucking and grasping along with sensory and perceptual abilities that help them to tune to the social world
• What is the definition of ATTACHMENT?

  An enduring two-way, emotional tie to a specific other person

  • Normally this is with a parent
• An attachment might be considered to have formed when what 3 things are shown?

  • stranger anxiety
  • separation protest
  • secure-base behaviour
• what is stranger anxiety?

  Distress in the presence of unknown individuals
• what is separation protest?

  Distress at absence of specific person,,, need for proximity to an individual
• what is secure-base behaviour?


  regularly return to attachment figures eg infants when playing
• Define carer-infant interactions?

  interactions between a carer and an infant are seen to be key. although the infant cannot talk the communication between the career and infant is complex and rich
• define bodily contact?


  close proximity helps form attachment bond
• define mimicking?


  Innate ability to initiate carers' facial expressions, aids formation of attachments
• define caregiverese?

  voice which is high pitched song like nature, slow and repetitive- aids communication and strengthens attachment bond
• define interactional synchrony ?

  mother (can be father) and infants actions and emotions mirror each other AND do this in a coordinated (synchronised) way
• give an example of interactional synchrony?


  baby moves her head in time with her mother
• define reciprocity?

  A description of how 2 individuals interact. it is a TWO WAY process when each person responds to the other and elicts a response from them (taking turns/q and a). most likely LED BY THE ADULT
• give an example of reciprocity?

  mum smiles and infant smiles back
• who is most likely to lead interactional synchrony and reciprocity?

  the adult
• What are babies born with?

  Primitive reflexes eg sucking and grasping along with sensory and perceptual abilities that help them to tune to the social world
• what are altricial animals born like?

  Born at a relatively young stage of development
• what do altricial offspring need to do?

  Need to form attachment bonds with adults who will protect and nurture them
• What are precocial animals born at?

  a fairly advanced stage of development