Caregiver Infant Interactions

Caregiver Infant Interactions

1. AO1: Green A03: Orange

2. A strength of observing the interactions is that filming responses can capture very fine details, even from different angles

   • Babies do not understand they are being recorded nor do they care. Meaning all their responses are completely natural, which is usually difficult to achieve in observational research. This means that the research has good validity.
     • According to Gratier (2003), many studies of mother-infant interactions have shown the same patterns of interaction.
       • We cannot know for sure whether mother-infant interactions have a special meaning. This is because there is no way to know what is happening in the infants perspective through facial expressions and gestures. For example is the mimicking of behaviour deliberate and conscious?
         • Feldman (2012) has pointed out how synchrony (and reciprocity) simply describe behaviours that happen at the same time. They can be observed reliably but that does not mean it furthers our understanding of the purpose of these behaviours.
           • However, it can be argued that reciprocal interaction and synchrony are helpful in developing mother-infant attachment, as well as helpful in stress responses, empathy, language and moral development.

3. Reciprocity

   • Babies have meaningful interactions with their caregivers from a young age, this attachment is believed to be important to a baby's social development.
     • How two people interact and respond to each other's signals and elicit responses from each other is called reciprocity.
       • From birth babies and their mother/other caregivers spend a lot of time with each other in intense interaction. Babies have 'alert phases', where they are able to signal they are ready for interaction. Mothers are usually able to pick up and respond to this alertness 2/3 times, according to Feldman and Eidelman (2007).
         • According to Feldman (2007) from around 3 months this interaction tends to get more and more frequent and involves close attention to one another's facial expressions and verbal signals.
           • Traditionally the child was seen as playing a passive role, and simply receiving care, however, it is now clear that the child participates actively. Both mother and child are able to initiate interactions, and even take turns to do so, described by Brazleton et al, (1975) as a 'dance'.

4. Interactional Synchrony

   • Interactional synchrony is when babies and caregivers are synchronized in their behaviours, when the caregivers and the infants behaviour and emotions mirror each other.
     • Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed that interactional synchrony began as early as two weeks old. An adult would display one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures.
       • The babies' reactions were filmed and identified by independent observers. An association was discovered between an adult's gesture or expression and a baby's behaviour.
         • Interactional synchrony is believed to be important for the development of mother-infant attachment. Isabella et al. (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants together. They assessed the level of synchrony and the quality of the attachment. They found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachments.