What is attachment?
Attachment is a two-way emotional bond between two individuals where each individual sees the other as an essential for emotional security
What does reciprocity mean?
The interactions between the caregiver and the infants are mutual, both people are contributing in the interaction and they respond to one another
What research evidence is there for reciprocity?
- Brazelton et al (1975)
- Mother and child take turns initiating interactions and from birth babies and carers spend lots of time in intense and pleasurable interactions.
What is interactional synchrony?
When two people interact, they mirror what the other is doing such as facial or body movements. This can include imitating emotions and behaviours. It is also described as synchrony.
What research evidence is there to support interactional synchrony?
- Meltzoff and Moore (1977)
- Systematic study
- Infants at the age of 2-3 weeks old imitate specific face and hand gestures
- Adult model displayed one of three facial expressions or hand movements
- Dummy was in the infants mouth to prevent a response
- Dummy was then removed and child’s expression was filmed
- There was an association between the infant behaviour and the adult model
What supporting research evidence is there for interactional synchrony? Isabella:
- Isabelle et al (1989)
- 30 mothers and infants and assessed degree of synchrony
- Also assessed quality of mother-infant
- Found high levels of synchrony was associated with better quality of infant-mother attachment (emotional intensity of relationship)
Evaluation of caregiver-infant interactions:
- doesn’t take all cultures into account (vine et al kenyan mother study)
- double blind observer in MEltzoff’s study meant less bias results
- strong validity (makes sense we learn how to interact at young age for survival)
-camera may have had an effect
