Reciprocity and interactional synchrony

• Reciprocity is when the baby copy’s the mothers actions, like when a mother smiles and the baby does.
• A child as young as 2 weeks old can attempt to copy their caregiver.
• Reciprocity is important in teaching a child to communicate. It allows the parent to better care for the child as they can detect certain cues from the baby and respond to their needs sooner and more effectively.
• Interactional synchrony is when the infant and caregiver become synchronised in their interactions.
• Children can synchronise their movements with the sound of an adults voice.
• Brazleton et al demonstrated that young infants can copy the displayed distinctive facial expressions or gestures.
• Interactional synchrony has been found to lead to better communication between the parent and child when the child is older.
• Meltzoff + Moore 1977, pulled tongues and waved hands at babies aged 12 - 21 days old, found that babies could imitate and have an innate ability to reciprocate.
• Tronick, found when mothers were asked to not smile at all with their baby, it became puzzled and very distressed and tried harder to get mums attention.