caregiver-infant interactions in humans

• Reciprocity


  The child and the parent (in most research this is the mother) pay attention to each other's verbal and non-verbal signals, taking it in turn to initiate the sequence
• Interactional Synchrony


  The child and parent are in harmony with their verbal and non-verbal signals, mirroring each other
• A child will have more than one attachment figure, forming multiple attachments to key people in their life
• Research has often overlooked the role of the father in attachment
• Caregiver-infant interactions is an often overlooked part of the course but has come up several times as extended answer questions: i.e. 8 and 16 marks
• Research support for caregiver-infant interactions

  • Feldman and Eidelman (2007)
  • Isabella et al. (1989)
• Reciprocity


  When the caregiver and infant respond to each other's signals appropriately
• Feldman and Eidelman (2007)


  • An observational study which found that mothers responded to their babies in a reciprocal way two-thirds of the time
• Interactional synchrony


  When an infant mirrors the actions of their caregiver
• Isabella et al. (1989)


  • Better quality of maternal care was associated with higher levels of mother-infant synchrony
• Both of the above studies were naturalist observations which means that they are both high in ecological validity however the observer effect may have decreased this validity to some extent
• Examples of interactional synchrony

  • Facial expressions
  • Hand gestures
• Key study in caregiver-infant interactions

  Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
• Stages of Attachment


  Identified by Schaffer
• How infants learn to interact with other people

  1. Interactional synchrony

  2. Reciprocity
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  1. A naturalistic observation of 60 babies from the same housing estate in Glasgow over an 18 month period

  2. The results showed that 50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards their PCG in the first 25-32 weeks

  3. The babies showed the strongest attachments to those who gave them the highest quality of care i.e. responding to them sensitively, interacting with them etc. rather than to those who spent the most time with them
• Stages of attachment


  Proposed by Schaffer & Emerson
• Interactional synchrony


  • Infant 'copies' caregiver
• Stages of attachment developed by Schaffer and Emerson

  • Stage 1: Asocial stage (0-few weeks old) - the baby does not really distinguish between human and non-human objects
  • Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months old) - the baby prefers familiar adults but is happy to be comforted by any adult
  • Stage 3: Specific attachment (7 months onwards) - the baby now prefers one specific adult and shows separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
  • Stage 4: Multiple attachments (8/9 months onwards) - the baby enjoys being with people they are familiar with rather than just one specific caregiver all the time
• Multiple attachments


  An infant forms several, different attachments with a range of people, usually a family member
• The revision note on caregiver-infant interactions earlier in this section featured the study by Schaffer & Emerson (1966)
• The pseudo-conversation


  1. Caregiver 'speaks' to infant and 'allows' infant to respond

  2. Teaches turn-taking in conversations

  3. Caregiver uses 'motherese' or 'caregivers' voice
• The findings from this study led the researchers to propose Stages of Attachment that each child goes through
• Monotropy

  An infant forms one main attachment with their Primary Care Giver (PCG) and this is then replicated throughout their life in their relationships with others
• Asocial (0-6 weeks)


  1. Infants respond to people and objects in the same way

  2. Babies can cry for attention and by 6 weeks old they are starting to smile but they may well smile at a range of people, not just the primary caregiver

  3. Babies do, however, show a preference for looking at images of faces and eyes (Fantz 1961)
• The pseudo-conversation is the start of learning how to converse with others
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that by the time the infants were 18 months they had already formed multiple attachments
• We often respond to pets' sounds in a 'caregivers' voice, same principle as with babies
• Indiscriminate Attachment (6 weeks-6 months)

  1. Babies enjoy the company of a range of people

  2. Babies are happy to be cuddled by a stranger

  3. Babies may become upset if an adult stops interacting with them but they are yet to develop separation anxiety

  4. Research shows that they smile more at actual people than at lifelike objects such as puppets (Ellsworth et al. 1993)
• Bowlby's theory of attachment supports Monotropy, although most psychologists tend to support Multiple Attachments more
• The role of the father

  The most common second attachment formed was with the father
• Specific Attachment (7 months +)

  1. The baby now has a strong attachment to their primary caregiver

  2. All the signs of attachment are present: separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, proximity-seeking behaviour and clinginess
• At 18 months 75% had formed an attachment with their father
• The role of fathers has significantly developed since the 1960s and many men are more hands-on with their children than in the past
• Multiple Attachment (10 months onwards)

  1. Babies now have a range of secondary attachment figures with whom they have formed a bond

  2. Secondary attachments are those which develop after the primary attachment figure has been established

  3. By the time a child is 12-18 months old they will have developed multiple attachments
• Fathers


  • Associated with fun and playing with the child
  • Less important to later development than the mother in terms of nurture
• If the father had engaged in active play with the child when they were young, the adolescent relationship with BOTH parents is strengthened
• Schaffer & Emerson's stages of attachment

  • The stages follow a logical pattern and reflect most children's experience of attachment hence the theory has external validity
  • The stages of attachment have good application: they could be used to identify developmental delay or infant-caregiver bonding issues by healthcare professionals
• Fathers as primary caregivers

  • They take on more of a maternal role
  • They are seen to be more nurturing and caring than the traditional father role
• Schaffer & Emerson's stages of attachment

  • Not all children will fit neatly into the stages: some children may bond quickly with a range of people while others may be slower so the theory lacks some reliability
  • It is notoriously difficult to measure and track infant behaviour: many aspects of attachment remain a mystery i.e. a baby cannot explain how they are feeling or give reasons for their actions