Introduction to attachment (Caregiver-infant interations)

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Babies have alert phases
Babies signal when they are ready to interact and a mother responds two-thirds of the time (Feldman and Eidleman)
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Interational synchony = mirroring
Two people are 'synchronised' when they carry out the same action simultaneously. It can be defined as 'the coordination of micro-level behaviour' (Feldman). They intract in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.
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Interactional synchony at two weeks old
Meltzof and Moore observed the beginnings of IS in infants (2 weeks old). An adult displayed one of three facial expressions/ distinctive gestures, filming the child's response. An association was found between the expression and action of the child.
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Important for the development of attachment, high synchrony = higher quality attachment
IS is important of mother-infant attachments. Isabella et al observed 20 mothers and infants and assessed the synchrony and quality of attachment. = High levels of S were associated with better quality attach.(emotional intensity)
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Reciprocity = mother-infant interaction
From around three months this interation tends to be increasingly frequent & involves close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions. Interactions become reciprocal: when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.
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Baby is active
Traditional views of childhood have seen the baby in a passive role, receiving care from an adult. However, it seems that the baby takes an active role. Both mother and the child can initiate and they appear to take turns in doing so.
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Evaluation - It's hard to know what is happening when observing infants
It is difficult to be certain, what is taking place from the infant's perspective. Is the infant's imitation of adult signals conscious and deliberate? This means we cannot know if the behaviours seen have a special meaning.
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Evaluation - One strength of the research is that it involves well-controlled procedures
Observations of mother-infant interations are usually filmed. This ensures that very fine details can be recorded and analysed later. Babies don't know they are being filmed so their behaviour doesn't change in controlled observation = good validity.
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Evaluation - However, observations don't tell us the purpose of interational synchrony and reciprocity.
Feldman points out that IS describes behaviours that occur at the same time. These are robust phenomena as they can be reliably observed, but may not be useful as it doesn't tell us what their value is or what the infant is learning.
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Card 2

Front

Two people are 'synchronised' when they carry out the same action simultaneously. It can be defined as 'the coordination of micro-level behaviour' (Feldman). They intract in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.

Back

Interational synchony = mirroring

Card 3

Front

Meltzof and Moore observed the beginnings of IS in infants (2 weeks old). An adult displayed one of three facial expressions/ distinctive gestures, filming the child's response. An association was found between the expression and action of the child.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

IS is important of mother-infant attachments. Isabella et al observed 20 mothers and infants and assessed the synchrony and quality of attachment. = High levels of S were associated with better quality attach.(emotional intensity)

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

From around three months this interation tends to be increasingly frequent & involves close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions. Interactions become reciprocal: when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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