caregiver-infant interactions

• what is meant by attachment?

  a close 2 way emotional bond between 2 persons characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity
• proximity


  people try to stay physically close to those they are attached to
• separation distress


  people are distressed when an atttachment figure leaves
• secure base behaviour


  explore the environment bur return to attachment figure for comfort
• reciprocity

  • young babies where they signal to their caregiver that they are ready for some interactions eg making eye contact and mothers pick them up - Feldman and Eildmen
  • from 3 months interaction increases - and pay more attention to verbal signals and facial expressions
  • occurs when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from one another
  • 'turn taking'
• Brazelton says...


  The sensitivity to infant behaviour lays the foundation of attachement , this interaction is like dance when each partner responds to others dance move
• interactional synchrony

  • form of imitation where babies as young as 2 or 3 weeks respond in a coordinated way and imitate or mirror specific facial expression, hand gestures or emotions
• Meltzoff and Moore - interactional synchrony

  • saw at 2 weeks
  • important in developing an attachement 
  • controlled obs - 1/3 facial expression of adult
  • babies response filmed  found significant association between babies and adult
• research methods of Meltzoff and Moore

  • each observer watched videotapes in real time, slow motion and frame by frame
  • each observer scored then 2x
• • inter - observer reliability 


  the extent to which there is an agreement between 2 or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour
• intra observer reliability 


  the extent to which the same observer would agress on their observations if they repeated the obs
• Isabella et al -interactional synchrony

  • observed 30 mothers and infant
  • assess the degree of synchrony and the quality of attachment
  • found high levels of synchrony
• • one weakness of research into caregiver-infant interactions is that it is hard to know exactly what is happening when observing infants.....
  • many studies into  mother-infant interactions have shown the same patterns of behaviour (Gratier 2003) however, what is being observed is merely hand movement or changes in expression
  • it is difficult to be sure based on these obs eg/ whether is consious and deliberate or just a reflex actions
  • therefore difficult to establish exactly the connection between these early interactions and attachment behaviour
• one strength of the research into mother-infant attachment it uses well controlled procedures

  • usually filmed from multiple angles
  • fine details can be recorded and analysed later
  • babies don't know they are being observed so their behaviour does not change
  • therefore shows it has good validity and enhance the understanding of the role that these interactions have in attachment formation
• another weakness of the research into infant-mother interactions is that it could be considered unethical as it is socially sensitive

  • suggest that mothers should not work so soon, and maybe considered as bad mothers or made to feel guilty
  • Isabella et al found high level of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant interactions
• another weakness it does not tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity

  • able to describe these terms and reliably observe them but not useful as it does not tell us their purpose
  • however some evidence that reciprocal interactions and synchrony are helpful in the development in attachment