Interactions between caregiver and infant

definition of infancy

the period of a child’s life before speech begins, usually in the first 0-2 years.

key interactions between caregivers and infants

non-verbal communication

attachment definition

a close emotional relationship between two persons characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity

4 key behaviours or attachment

• Seeking proximity to primary caregiver

• Both caregiver & infant experience distress on separation

• Both experience pleasure on being reunited

• Using the caregiver as a safe base for exploration

reciprocity

type of interaction.

This is responding to an action given by someone with another action; the actions of one partner cause a response from the other partner.
Research has shown that infants coordinate their actions with their caregivers, similar to a conversation. From birth infants move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns, as people do in a conversation (one person speaks, then the other person speaks, etc.)

interactional synchrony

type of interaction.

When the mother and infant interact they tend to mirror what the other is doing with their facial and body movements. It is described as synchrony when two (or more) things move in the same pattern. They will imitate both behaviours and emotions intentionally, it is argued that this is important for mother-infant attachment.

Here the response is an imitation whereas with reciprocity the response to the partner can be different to the original action.

interactional synchrony case study

Meltzoff and Moore (1977)

A: conducted the first in depth study on interactional synchrony.

P: the study used a controlled observation. They chose four different stimuli (three different faces plus a hand gesture where the fingers moved in a sequence). The study was conducted using an adult model who displayed one of the three facial expressions or the hand movement. Following the display, the child's expression was filmed.

The video of the baby was then judged by independent observers who had no knowledge of what the infant had just seen (to control for expectancy effects).

The observer watched the videotapes of the infant's behaviour in real time, slow motion and frame by frame if necessary.

Each observer was asked to note all instances of infant tongue protrusions and head movements in different categories. Inter-observer reliability (consistency between 2 observers) was then calculated. All scores were greater than 0.92 which means that there was high agreement between the observers.

F: Infants as young as 2 or 3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures.

C: There was an association between the infant behaviour and that if the adult model, supporting the idea of interactional synchrony.

interactional synchrony evaluation summary

• controlled observations

• lack ecological validity

• important implications

• supporting evidence

• cause and effect not inferred

• imitation is intentional

interactional synchrony evaluation - controlled observation

A strength of the research into interactions between caregiver and infant is that most studies use controlled observations. Procedures are controlled with both the mother and the infant being filmed, often from multiple angles. This ensures that the fine details of behaviour can be recorded and analysed meaning that the research has high internal validity.

interactional synchrony evaluation - lack ecological validity

However, as the behaviour is observed in a controlled environment the studies may not reflect real world infant behaviour, and therefore the research may lack ecological validity and not generalise to real life interactions

interactional synchrony evaluation - supporting evidence

Supporting evidence for the importance of Interactional synchrony in attachment: Isabella (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed their degree of synchrony and the quality of attachment. It was found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality attachment. This suggests a relationship between closeness of synchrony and strength of attachment. This supports the claim interactions are important for later attachment.

interactional synchrony evaluation - cause and effect not inferred

However, as this research is correlational cause and effect cannot be inferred. The theory suggests that high levels of interactional synchrony cause high quality attachments, but it could be that having a good quality attachment increases levels of synchrony. Alternatively, other factors may be involved in the quality of attachments e.g. the innate personality of the infant.

interactional synchrony evaluation - imitation is intentional

The theory of interactional synchrony argues that infants imitate their caregiver's behaviour on purpose. There is evidence to support that the infant's imitation is intentional: Murray and Treverthen (1985) carried out a study on two month old infants. In the first condition the babies interacted via a video monitor with their mother. In the second condition the video monitor played a tape of the mother so that the image on the screen was not responding to the infant's facial and bodily gestures. In this condition the infants showed severe distress when they tried to attract their mother's interest but she did not respond. Eventually, gaining no response from their mother, the babies became disinterested and turned away. This shows that the infant is actively trying to get a response and is an active and intentional partner in the mother-infant interaction, as the theory suggests.

interactional synchrony evaluation - important implications

A strength of doing research into reciprocity and interactional synchrony is that it has important implications. It has been found that they are important in the development of quality of attachment. Furthermore, these interactions have been found to be important in the of development empathy, moral reasoning and language. Therefore, it is essential psychologists study these interactions because they have important real life implications for parenting; parents need to be aware of how important it is for then to interact with their baby.