Caregiver-infant interractions

• Outline what is meant by attachment

  a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
• What are the behaviours which infer an attachment?

  1. Proximity seeking
  2. Separation distress
  3. Secure-base behaviour
  4. Reunion behaviour
• Outline what is meant by proximity seeking

  A want to remain physically close to who they are attached to
• Outline what is meant by separation distress

  infants are distressed when attachment figure leaves them
• Outline what is meant by secure-base behaviour

  infants return to their attachment figure while playing
• Outline what is meant by reunion behaviour

  infants display joy when reunited with their caregivers
• What are the ways that infants can interract with their caregivers?

  • reciprocity
  • interactional synchrony
• Outline what is meant by reciprocity

  when the action of the caregiver elicits a response from the infant (back and forth, like a conversation)
• Outline what is meant by interactional synchrony

  infant mirrors the actions of the caregiver at the same time
• Who investigated caregiver-infant interactions and when?

  Meltzoff & Moore ( 1977)
• What was the procedure for Meltzoff & Moore's research?

  Adult model would display one of three facial expressions to a 2-3 week old baby and then response was filmed (used controlled observation)
• What were the findings for Meltzoff & Moore's research?

  Clear association between behaviour of adult model and of the child

  • experiment was replicated for 3 day old babies and same findings were obtained
• What were the conclusions for Meltzoff & Moore's research?

  interactional synchrony is innate
• What is the evaluation for Meltzoff & Moore's research?

  :) controlled observations --> could capture fine detail & babies didn't know they were being recorded so behaviour is likely to be natural --> high external validity

  :( difficult to distinguish between normal behaviour and imitation --> reliability issues

  :( research is socially sensitive --> guilt for mothers who work a lot and can't communicate with their babies as much