Caregiver-infant interactions

• Since Birth Caregivers and babies spend a lot of time with each other.
• They spend a lot of time interacting and have pleasureable moments such as feeding and playing together.
• Babies have alert phases and signal to there mother or primary care giver that they are ready for interaction. 
• Mothers usually pick up on these signals for example crying could be seen as a signal because it encourages the mother to interact with the infant.

• When two or more people perform the same action or emotion they are defined as 'synchronised' individuals.
• Interactional synchrony can be identified as the 'co-ordination of micro-level behaviour' as suggested by Feldmen in 2007.
• It takes place when caregivers and infants interact in such away that the actions or emotions mimic each other for example an infant smiling could lead to the caregiver smiling interactional synchrony.
• Meltzof and Moore in 1977 observed interactional synchrony at just two weeks old between babies and there caregivers.
• The care giver would make 1 of 3 very distinctive facial expressions, the childs response was filmed and validated by external figures
• An association was formed with the adults facial expressions and the childs actions.
• Interactional synchrony is also significant to caregiver and infant attachment, In 1989 Isabelle observed interactional synchrony and attachment between 30 mothers and infants.
• It was discovered that there was an association with higher interactional synchrony and higher qualitiy of attachment was found with mothers and infants.

One person responds to another.

• As time in pleasurable interaction increases so does each others identifcation for the others mood by facial expressions and gestures.
• They reach the point where caregivers can elicit a response from the infant by a facial gesture therefore being reciprocial.
• However this could also be vice versa; the infant could make a facial gesture which triggers the caregiver to respond, this means that they are both just as liable for each other Brazleton described interaction as more of a dance as they are responsible for the other actions just like dancing with someone.