Caregiver-infant interactions

What is meant by an attachment?

• A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals

• Each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security

What are three pieces of evidence for an attachment?

• Proximity-seeking

• Separation anxiety

• Secure-base behaviour

What are caregiver-infant interactions?

Non-verbal forms of communication that form the basis of attachment between an infant & caregiver

What are two examples of caregiver-infant interactions?

Reciprocity & interactional synchrony

What does a baby produce that elicits a response from the caregiver who can then respond to the baby’s needs?

Social releasers

What is reciprocity?

A description of how two people interact (e.g. smiling):

• mother-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant & mother respond to each other’s signals & each elicits a response from the other

When does reciprocity become more frequent?

From the age of 3 months

What happens in interactional synchrony?

The mother & infant reflect both the actions & emotions of the other, & do this in a coordinated (synchronised) way

Outline and evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• An attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals, where each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security. Evidence for an attachment includes proximity-seeking, separation anxiety & secure-base behaviour.

• Caregiver-infant interactions are non-verbal forms of communication that form the basis of attachment between an infant & caregiver. A baby can produce social releasers (e.g. cooing), which activates the adult attachment system, to elicit a response from the caregiver who can then respond to the baby’s needs.

• Firstly, one caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocity, which describes how two people interact (i.e. turn-taking). Mother-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant & mother respond to each other’s signals & each elicits a response from the other (e.g. the mother plays peek-a-boo & the child responds with laughter & smiling). Reciprocity becomes more frequent from the age of 3 months with close attention to verbal signals & facial expressions. Both mother & child can initiate interactions & they appear to take turns in doing so.

• Secondly, another caregiver-infant interaction is interactional synchrony, where the mother & infant reflect both the actions & emotions of the other & do this in a coordinated (synchronised) way. They interact in a mirror pattern in terms of their facial & body movements (e.g. the mother sticks out her tongue & the infant copies this).

Outline and evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (Meltzoff & Moore)

• Point: One strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions is there is research evidence in support of its existence.

• Evidence: For example, Meltzoff & Moore found that children would imitate the facial & hand movements of adults at 2 weeks old.

• Explain: This suggests that very young infants are capable of interactional synchrony, supporting the idea that caregiver-infant interactions are innate & important for bonding.

• Link: Overall, not only does this have theoretical value but it can also lead to practical applications for child development (e.g. helping parents improve their caregiver-infant bonding, leading to emotional development & even further attachment security).

Outline and evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Le Vine et al.)

• Point: One limitation of research into caregiver-infant interactions is they suffer from cultural bias, as they have been conducted in Western, individualistic societies.

• Evidence: For example, Le Vine et al. reported that Kenyan mothers have little physical interaction & contact with their infants however, their children have a high proportion of secure attachments.

• Explain: This suggests that research into interactional synchrony & reciprocity may be ethnocentric & ignore how attachments are formed within other cultures.

• Link: As such, the research findings may not be universal & we must be cautious of generalising the findings to collectivist societies.

Outline and evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Jacobsen)

• Point: One limitation of research into caregiver-infant interactions is the concern that children may not necessarily be intentionally social.

• Evidence: For example, Jacobsen’s study found that infants react in a similar way to inanimate objects, such as an approaching pen.

• Explain: This suggests that interactional synchrony may not be as influential a caregiver-infant interaction as Meltzoff & Moore proposed, as an infant’s imitation of adult actions may not be conscious or deliberate.

• Link: Therefore, this reduces the internal validity of research into caregiver-infant interactions, as observed behaviours may not reflect genuine social engagement.