Caregiver-Infant interactions

Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Definitions

Reciprocity = taking turns, like in a conversation

Interactional Synchrony = coordinated behaviour

Description

- mother anticipates infant signals, which is the basis of attachment (Brazelton)

- 3 day old babies begin to imitate mothers (Meltzoff and Moore)

- behaviour is pseudo imitation in operant conditioning (Piaget)

- infant becomes distressed if there's no response, supporting innateness (Murray and Trevarthe)

Evaluation

- testing infant behaviour is difficult as they're in constant motion

- Marian et al failed to replicate Meltzoff and Moore's experiment with live vs taped interactions

- Anravanel and DeYong support the intention of the infant due to no respond to inanimate object

​​​​​​Further evaluation

- Isabella et al argued individual differences, such as the security of attachment associated with interactional synchrony

- Meltzoff had the 'like me' hypothesis, where the interactional synchrony leads to Theory of Mind