caregiver infant interactions

caregiver infant interactions

1. reciprocity

   • Reciprocity is what happens when a baby or a caregiver repeats the actions/emotions of the other. It is basically 'turn-taking'.
   • Alert phases
     • Alert phases are when babies show that they are ready for interaction
     • Caregivers tend to pick up on these alert phases around two-thirds of the time
     • From around three months this interaction becomes increasingly frequent and involves both the caregiver and the baby paying close attention to eachothers signals
   • Active involvement
     • Both baby and caregiver can initiate interactions and appear to take turns in doing so
     • Brazelton (1975) described this interaction as a dance

2. Interactional synchrony

   • Interactional synchrony takes place when a caregiver and a baby interact in a way where their actions irror eachother
   • Synchrony begins
     • Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony at just 2 weeks old
     • Babies expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror the adults more than chance would predict, showing a significant association
   • Importance for attachment
     • Isabella (1989) observed 30 babies and their mothers and assessed their degree of synchrony
     • Found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment