Caregiver-infant interactions

• newborn babies have alert phases


  babies have periodic alert phrases and signal they are ready for attention - feldman et al.
• interactional synchrony = mirroring

  can be defined as the coordination of micro-level behaviour - it takes place when mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror each other.
• interactional synchrony at two weeks old


  meltzof and moore. an adult displayed one of three facial expressions and gestures and the child's response was filmed. an association was found between the expression/gesture and the action of the child
• high synchrony = higher quality attachment


  interactional synchrony is important for the development of attachment. it provides the necessary foundation for the mother and infant connection. isabella et al. observed 20 mothers and infants together and assessed their synchrony and mother-infant attachment. found that higher levels of synchrony were associated with better attachment
• reciprocity

  one person responds to the other. occurs from around 3 months. involves close attention to each other's verbal signals and facial expressions. brazleton described this interaction as a 'dance' where each partner responds to the other's moves.
• baby is active 


  traditional views of childhood see the baby in a passive role that receives care from an adult. baby does take active role as mother and baby can initiate reactions and take turns in doing so.
• strength of caregiver-infant interactions - research uses well controlled procedures 


  mother-infant interactions are usually filmed, usually from multiple angles. very fine details of behaviour can be recorded to be analysed later. babies also don't know they're being observed so they can't create demand characteristics. strength because good validity
• limitation of caregiver-infant interactions - observations don't tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity


  feldman highlights that synchrony simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time. these are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed, but it may not be very useful as it doesn't tell us why they occur. though there is evidence that good synchrony creates healthy emotional bonds and attachment.
• limitation of caregiver-infant interactions - research is socially sensitive


  research suggests that children may be at a disadvantage by particular child-rearing practices; specifically mothers who return to work quickly. suggests that mothers should not return to work so soon - has obvious socially sensitive complications
• A limitation of caregiver-infant interactions is that it is hard to know what is happening when observing infants. 


  Many studies into these interactions have shown the same patters of behaviour (Gratier). However, what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression. It is difficult to be sure, based on these observations, what is taking place from the infant's perspective. For example, is the infant's imitation of adult signals conscious and deliberate. This means we cannot be certain that behaviours seen in mother-infant interactions have a special meaning.