intercational synchrony

• What is interactional synchrony?


  - synchronisation occurs when two people perform the same action simultaneously.

  - mother and infant reflect each other's actions and emotions in a coordinated, synchronized manner.
• When does interactional synchrony begin and why is it Important for attachment?

  Meltzoff and Moore (1977): Identified interactional synchrony in two-week-old infants.

  - adults displayed facial expressions, babies' responses filmed and observed.

  - babies mirrored adults' expressions more than chance (significant association).

  : Higher synchrony linked to better mother-baby attachment in 30 observed caregiver-infant pairs.
• Research into interactional synchrony aim + procedure (Meltzoff and Moore 1977)


  Aim: To investigate reciprocity between infants and their caregivers.

  
  

  Procedure: babies are exposed to one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures

  babies responses were filmed and labelled by independent observers

  responses filmed to increase reliability
• Meltzoff and Moore findings + conclusion


  Findings: The results indicated that babies aged 12 to 27 days old could imitate both facial expressions and manual gestures.

  
  

  Conclusions: Meltzoff and Moore concluded that the ability to imitate serves as an important building block for later social and cognitive development.