𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽
caregiver-infant interactions
research
interactions
→ babies have frequent & important interactions with caregiver
reciprocity
→ interaction flows between mother & infant; when each person responds to the
other (more intense from 3 months). mothers respond when baby is alert (eg eye
contact)
→ Jaffe : highlighted infants coordinate their actions with caregivers in a sort of
conversation, as if they’re ‘turn taking’
interactional synchrony
→ infant & caregiver actions & emotions mirror the other
→ Meltzoff & Moore : found infants of 2-3 weeks old imitated facial & hand
gestures, the caregiver did the expression & infant imitated. it was filmed
→ Isabella : quality of attachment related to synchrony
evaluation
+ research on this topic are usually filmed observations
→ capture fine detail, can establish inter-rater reliability & babies not aware of being
observed, can be replicated
- difficulty observing babies
→ not all small movements have a significant meaning
- developmental importance
→ observation of behaviour doesn’t tell us about its importance of synchrony & reciprocity
in development
+ counterpoint
→ evidence from eg Isabella suggests importance of interactional synchrony in attachment
- controlled observations
doing it in a lab not baby’s natural environment; lacks ecological validity
, Schaffer’s stages of attachment
the theory
1. asocial stage
→ first few weeks | same response to humans & objects
2. indiscriminate attachments stage
→ 2-7 months | preference for (familiar) people, no separation/stranger anxiety
3. specific attachments stage
→ 7-11 months | stranger & separation anxiety in regard to primary attachment
4. multiple attachments stage
→ 11 months+ | multiple attachments formed to more than 1 adult
Schaffer & Emerson’s research
→ mothers of 60 working class Glasgow babies reported monthly for 18 months
on separation & stranger anxiety - a longitudinal study
→ found babies’ attachment progressed as detailed in Schaffer & Emerson stage
theory
evaluation
+ good external validity
→ mothers did the observing so babies not stressed by being observed
- counterpoint
→ mothers may not have accurately noted behaviour, leading to potential demand
characteristics
- poor evidence for asocial stage
→ at this young age babies have low coordination, doesn’t necessarily suggest anything
about attachment
- low generalisability
→ data gathered in working-class Glasgow, not generalisable to entire world (as suggested
by differences in cultures by Van Ijzendoorn)
caregiver-infant interactions
research
interactions
→ babies have frequent & important interactions with caregiver
reciprocity
→ interaction flows between mother & infant; when each person responds to the
other (more intense from 3 months). mothers respond when baby is alert (eg eye
contact)
→ Jaffe : highlighted infants coordinate their actions with caregivers in a sort of
conversation, as if they’re ‘turn taking’
interactional synchrony
→ infant & caregiver actions & emotions mirror the other
→ Meltzoff & Moore : found infants of 2-3 weeks old imitated facial & hand
gestures, the caregiver did the expression & infant imitated. it was filmed
→ Isabella : quality of attachment related to synchrony
evaluation
+ research on this topic are usually filmed observations
→ capture fine detail, can establish inter-rater reliability & babies not aware of being
observed, can be replicated
- difficulty observing babies
→ not all small movements have a significant meaning
- developmental importance
→ observation of behaviour doesn’t tell us about its importance of synchrony & reciprocity
in development
+ counterpoint
→ evidence from eg Isabella suggests importance of interactional synchrony in attachment
- controlled observations
doing it in a lab not baby’s natural environment; lacks ecological validity
, Schaffer’s stages of attachment
the theory
1. asocial stage
→ first few weeks | same response to humans & objects
2. indiscriminate attachments stage
→ 2-7 months | preference for (familiar) people, no separation/stranger anxiety
3. specific attachments stage
→ 7-11 months | stranger & separation anxiety in regard to primary attachment
4. multiple attachments stage
→ 11 months+ | multiple attachments formed to more than 1 adult
Schaffer & Emerson’s research
→ mothers of 60 working class Glasgow babies reported monthly for 18 months
on separation & stranger anxiety - a longitudinal study
→ found babies’ attachment progressed as detailed in Schaffer & Emerson stage
theory
evaluation
+ good external validity
→ mothers did the observing so babies not stressed by being observed
- counterpoint
→ mothers may not have accurately noted behaviour, leading to potential demand
characteristics
- poor evidence for asocial stage
→ at this young age babies have low coordination, doesn’t necessarily suggest anything
about attachment
- low generalisability
→ data gathered in working-class Glasgow, not generalisable to entire world (as suggested
by differences in cultures by Van Ijzendoorn)
