Introduction to attachment with detailed AO1 descriptions and explanations of caregiver-infant interactions, reciprocity, and interactional synchrony. Includes a focus on Meltzoff and Moore (1977) and their findings. Detailed AO3 evaluation with strengths and weaknesses of these findings.
Babyface hypothesis
● Most young mammals have the same distinctive facial features
○ Big eyes, large forehead, squashed up nose
● These features act as a trigger for parenting behaviour which is necessary for a young animals survival
● The features elicit our desire to look after and care for babies
● Innate tendency to find babyface features appealing - spills over into how we judge adult faces
○ The babyface overgeneralization hypothesis
○ People rate adult faces with an element of 'babyfaceness' as the most attractive - Langlois and
Roggemann 1990
● Describe people with baby-like faces as being socially, physically and intellectually weak - Zebrowitz 1997
Caregiver-infant interactions
● Infancy is the period of a child's life before speech begins
● One of the key interactions is non-verbal communication
● Such interactions may form the basis of attachment between an infant and caregiver
○ It is the manner in which each responds to the other that determines the formation of the attachment
■ The more sensitive each is to the others signals = the deeper the relationship
● Meltzoff and Moore (1977)
Reciprocity and interactional synchrony
● Conducted experiment where the infant imitates the adults facial expression
● Observational study
● Selected 4 different stimuli
○ Tongue protrusion + mouth opening + lip protrusion + opening the hand
● A dummy was placed in the infants mouth during the initial display to prevent any response + following the
display the dummy was removed and the child's expression was filmed
● Experiment was videotaped and later observed - peer review
● judged by independent observers who had no knowledge of what the infant had just seen + each observer was
asked to note all instances of infant tongue protrusion
● Found that infants as young as 2-3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures
● They found there was an association between the infant behaviour and that of the adult model
Reciprocity
● Research in the 1970s (e.g. Jaffe et al., 1973) demonstrated that infants coordinate their actions with their
caregivers -> conversation
● From birth babies move in rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns
○ When having a conversation one person leans forwards and speaks + then it's the other person's turn
○ Example of reciprocity
● Brazelton (1979) suggested that this basic rhythm is an important precursor to later communications
● The regularity of an infant's signals allows a caregiver to anticipate the infant's behaviour and respond
appropriately
● This sensitivity to the infant's behaviour lays the foundation for later attachment
Interactional synchrony
● Meltzoff and Moore (1977)
Reciprocity and interactional synchrony
● Conducted experiment where the infant imitates the adults facial expression
● Observational study
● Selected 4 different stimuli
○ Tongue protrusion + mouth opening + lip protrusion + opening the hand
● A dummy was placed in the infants mouth during the initial display to prevent any response + following the
display the dummy was removed and the child's expression was filmed
● Experiment was videotaped and later observed - peer review
● judged by independent observers who had no knowledge of what the infant had just seen + each observer was
asked to note all instances of infant tongue protrusion
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