Caregiver-infant interactions in humans

What is attachment?

an enduring two way personal tie to another specific person usually between a parent and a child which develops is set stages within a fairly set timescale

Interactional synchrony

The co-ordinated rhythmic exchanges between carer and infant

Reciprocity

the interaction of similar behaviour patterns between carer and infant

Two examples to show an attachment has developed

-when an infant shows stranger anxiety
-when an infant shows separation protest

What are attachment bonds characterised by?

an infants desire to keep close proximity to a particular individual and by the expression of distress if the infant is separated from that person

How is the attachment bond maintained?

through interactions between a carer and an infant

Describe interactional synchrony in more detail

infants move their bodies in tune with the rhythm of carers' spoken language with the infants' and caregiver's behaviours synchronised because they are moving in the same/similar pattern. Reinforces attachment bond.

Describe Reciprocity in more detail

interactions between carers and infants result in mutual behaviour -for example, a smile from one triggering a smile from the other- with both parties being able to produce responses from each other, which also helps to fortify the attachment bond.

Define bodily contact

physical interactions between carer and infant help to form the attachment bond, especially in the period immediately after birth.

Define mimicking

infants seem to have an innate ability to imitate carers' facial expressions, which suggests it is a biological device to aid the formations of attachments.

Define Caregiverse

adults who interact with infants use a modified form of vocal language that is high pitched, song-like in nature, slow and repetitive. This aids communication between carer and infant and serves to strengthen the attachment bond.

Which studies support Interactional synchrony

Condon& Sander 1974, Isabella et al. 1989

Which study refers to mimicking

Meltzoff&Moore 1977

Which study supports Caregiverse

Papousek et al. 1991

Which study supports Reciprocity

Feldman Eidelman 2007

Condon & Sander 1974

Analysed frame by frame video recordings of infants' movements to find they co-ordinated their actions in sequence with adults speech to form a kind of turn taking conversation, supporting the idea of interactional synchrony

Isabella et al 1989

further strengthened the notion of interactional synchrony reinforcement bonds, by finding that infants with secure attatchments demonstrated more evidence of such behaviour during their first year of life.

Klaus & Kennell 1976 what they researched

compared mums who had extended physical contact with their babies lasting several hours a day with mums who only had physical contact with their babies during feeding in the three days after birth.

Klaus & Kennell 1976- findings

one month later, the mums with the greater physical contact were found to cuddle their babies more and made greater eye contact with them than the mums with lesser contact and these effects were still noticeable a year later.
This suggests that greater physical contact leads to stronger and closer bond formation

Meltzoff & Moore 1977 findings

found that infants aged 2-3 weeks tended to mimic adults' specific facial expressions and hand movements, supporting the idea that infant mimicry is an innate ability to aid the formation of attachments, especially as it was subsequently seen in infants of less than three days old.

Papousek et al (1991) findings

found that the tendency to use a rising tone to show an infant that it was their turn in the interaction was cross-cultural, as american, chinese and german mothers all exhibited the behaviour.
This suggests that Caregiverse is an innate biological devise to facilitate the formation of attachments.

Feldman and Eidelman (2007)

reported that reciprocity is seen from three months of age, as interactions become more frequent and infants and carers pay more attention to each other's verbal signals and facial expressions, illustrating the importance of reciprocity in forming attachments.

Practical application of Klaus & Kennels findings

that hospitals placed mother's and babies in the same room in the days following birth, rather than the previous practice of rooming them apart, to encourage the formation of attachments

opposition of Klaus& kennels work

Durkin 1995 claimed klaus & kennels findings were due not to increased physical contact, but instead due to the greater attention given to the mothers who were unmarried and poor.

Counterpoint of durkins view on the klaus&kennel findings

however Chateau & Wiberg 1984 found the same results with middle class swedish mothers, which gives support to Klaus & Kennel

Negative point about caregiverse

it has been seen to be used by adults to all infants, not just those they have an attachment with, which suggests that although its usage aids communication between adults and infants it cannot be claimed to specifically help form attachments

Negative point about interactional synchrony

the fact that it is not found in all cultures weakens support for the idea that is is necessary for attachment formation. La Vine et al. 1994 reported that kenyan mothers have little physical contact or interactions with their infants, but such infants do have a high proportion of secure attachments.

Alert phrases (part of reciprocity)

they signal (e.g. making eye contact) that they are ready for a spell of interaction.

What did Brazelton research in attachment?

the study of early parent-child relationships

Bowlby's theory?

theory suggests that early relationships with caregivers shape a person's emotional and social development. He believed that if an attachment is not formed during a critical period, it will be much harder to form one later in life.

Seperation anxiety

Distress experienced by infants when separated from primary caregivers.

Proximity anxiety

an intense fear of being too close to or too far away from others

Real- world applications from Bowlby's theory

-Better childcare practices, such as assigning caregivers to children in daycare centers
-Reviewing hospital visiting hours so that children can maintain contact with their parents
-National governments offering more financial support for young families in terms of maternity and paternity leave

Stranger anxiety

part of a child's cognitive development, it's characterised by distress or apprehension when a child is around unfamiliar people

Caregiver sensitivity

the ability of a caregiver to accurately interpret and respond to a child's needs, signals, and communications

Longitudinal study

researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that might occur over a period of time.

Innate

something is present in an organism from birth and is not learned through experience