Select your language
Suggested languages for you:
Caregiver Infant Interactions
When you were a baby, who took care of you? Maybe it was mostly a parent, grandparent, or another relative. Maybe you had a foster parent, or you received care from multiple daycare workers. The person who was with you most and provided for your essential needs was your primary caregiver.
- First, what is the definition of caregiver-infant interaction?
- Then, let's discuss caregiver-infant interaction in psychology.
- We'll continue by discussing some examples of caregiver-infant interaction.
- What are the difficulties of caregiver-infant interaction?
- Finally, we'll evaluate the caregiver-infant interaction.
Caregiver Infant Interaction Definition
In psychology, caregiver-infant interactions are interactions between babies or infants and their parents or guardians (the caregivers). Caregiver-infant interactions are a way of establishing attachment between the infant and the caregiver.
Attachmentis an emotional bond with another person that provides feelings of safety and closeness.
Attachmentis a reciprocal emotional bond in the relationship between caregiver and infant. Reciprocal interactions strengthen the bond. In psychology, examples of caregiver-infant interactions would be reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
Reciprocity
When the infant and caregiver elicit responses from each other, it is a sign of reciprocity.
Reciprocity is when the caregiver or infant initiates interaction and a response follows the interaction.
Reciprocity of interactions usually evokes important feelings from the caregiver or infant, such as comfort, safety, or closeness. These interactions usually take the form of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication includes eye contact, smiling, facial expressions, sounds (e.g., gurgling) and physical touch.
When the caregiver tickles the infant, the infant smiles, and the caregiver laughs. The infant, in turn, makes happy gurgling sounds in response to the caregiver's laughter.
Interactional Synchrony
Condon and Sander (1974) found that babies as young as one day synchronise their movements and responses with the phonetic structure (rhythm) of adult speech. The researchers reported a 'turn-by-turn' interaction in which an adult spoke, and the baby responded.
The finding suggests babies can pay attention to sounds at an early age and converse with physical movements and gestures that may seem random at first glance.
Interactional synchrony occurs when one person mirrors the interactions of another, such as through facial expressions and body language.
Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed another example of interactional synchrony when adults showed infants with pacifiers in their mouths facial expressions or hand gestures to prevent immediate responses. As soon as they removed the pacifiers, the infants' facial expressions changed depending on which facial expression or hand gesture the adult showed.
Caregiver Infant Interaction in Psychology
One of the most important researchers of caregiver-infant interaction in psychology was Mary Ainsworth. To study the caregiver-inftant interaction, Ainsworth often used a method called strange situation.
Strange situation is a procedure used to observe and study the caregiver-infant attachment in which the child is placed in an environment they are unfamiliar with; the child's reaction is observed when the caregiver leaves and later returns.
Using strange situation experiments to form her theory of attachment, Ainsworth presents three types of attachment that a person begins to develop from infancy.
Secure attachment: infants with this attachment style are comfortable with exploring new environments when their caregiver is present, are only temporarily distressed when their caregiver leaves, and when their caregiver returns, they are comforted.
Insecure-resistant attachment: infants with this attachment style are extremely clingy, have difficulty exploring on their own, and become incredibly distressed when their caregiver leaves.
Insecure-avoidant attachment: infants with this attachment style show little to no attention to their mother when they're in the room and show no distress when they leave.
Another important concept that is often discussed when considering caregiver-infant interactions in psychology is the critical period.
Critical periods refer to optimal windows of development in which a person must be exposed to certain experiences or stimuli in order to develop normally.
Critical periods help explain why the caregiver-infant interaction can have such a major impact throughout a person's entire lifetime.
Take the animal study conducted by Konrad Lorenz (1952) in which he observed the attachment of recently hatched goslings. Within 13 to 16 hours of being hatched, the goslings developed an attachment to the first moving object they saw which was usually Lorenz. The longevity of these attachments supports the idea that attachment that occurs during critical periods can impact future attachment.
Caregiver Infant Interaction Examples
In their longitudinal study, Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that the primary attachment of infants to their mothers occurs at about 6-7 months of age. At about ten months of age, infants develop secondary attachments to their father and other family members, which is also the beginning of multiple attachments.
By 18 months of age, 31% of infants had developed attachments to siblings, grandparents, neighbours, or other family members. Schaffer and Emerson suggest that infants go through the following stages of attachment:
Asocial – 0-6 weeks.
Indiscriminate attachment – 6 weeks - 7 months.
Specific attachment – 7-9 months.
Multiple attachments – 10 months+.
Schaffer and Emerson found that the mother was still the primary attachment figure at 18 months. Other attachments varied in a 'hierarchy' depending on how important the attachments were to the child.
The researchers concluded that infants are more likely to bond with those who respond accurately to the infant's signals than with those who spend more time with the infant; this is called sensitive responsiveness. Responding to the infant's signals includes communicating and playing with the infant and responding to the infant's demands, such as crying for attention or asking for something (e.g., a toy or a favourite TV programme).
Caregiver Infant Interaction Difficulties
One of the difficulties of research on caregiver-infant interaction in psychology is that much of it focuses primarily on the mother -- but what about the role of the father? Luckily, researchers such as Field (1978) and Bowlby (1988) examined how attachments and interactions between caregivers and infants in a father-infant relationship differ from those in a mother-infant relationship. They also examined the father's role in the infant's social and emotional development.
Fathers as primary caregivers (Field, 1978)
Field (1978) compared the behaviour of mothers who are primary caregivers to that of fathers who are primary caregivers and fathers who are secondary caregivers. Field found that fathers who were primary caregivers showed interactions with the infant such as smiling, touching, and making sounds, as did their female counterparts. Fathers who were secondary caregivers spent less time and were more engaged in play.
The study concluded that parental behaviour, not gender, is more important in building an attachment with the infant. Fathers can also behave in a caring and accommodating manner towards the infant, similar to the way mothers usually do.
The role of the father (Bowlby, 1988)
Bowlby (1988) argued that fathers play a different role than mothers in most cultures and that it is unusual for fathers to be 'like' mothers and fill their roles. He suggested that fathers are more likely to interact with children through play. In his monotropic theory (1969), he held that children form an attachment to a 'primary' attachment figure, usually the mother.
However, the researchers found that fathers' play sensitivity better predicted the infant's long-term attachment representation than father-child infant attachment during the early stages of the infant's life. Play sensitivity was measured using the Sensitive and Challenging Interactive Play (SCIP) scale.
Parents scored high if they cooperated with the child during play, took time to understand the child's point of view, explained information that the child could understand, motivated the child, and made suggestions that the child generally accepted. Parents scored low if they did not cooperate, did not help the child, interfered with the child's actions, or pushed the child to achieve something.
What about single-parent or same-sex families? MacCullum and Golombok (2004) found that children who grew up in these families showed no differences in development compared to children who grew up in a heterosexual family with two parents.
Caregiver Infant Interaction Evaluation
When we evaluate the caregiver-infant interaction research in psychology, we run into a few common problems and limitations including the reliability of infant testing, observer bias, and individual differences.
Reliability of testing infants
In research, the reliability of testing infants and children is questionable because infants' movements can be due to various reasons and not necessarily reciprocity or interaction with adults. It is not easy to determine which are intentional and which accidental behaviours. A possible solution is to conduct experiments in a controlled environment to increase the reliability of the results.
Observer bias
Researchers may interpret infant behaviour to support their findings, known as observer bias. Since the infant's movements are subject to interpretation, this can affect the reliability of the results. A possible solution is for more than one observer to be involved in observation and interpretation to increase inter-observer reliability.
Individual Differences
Researchers may be overlooking individual factors, such as differences in attachment styles. Isabella et al. (1989) found that securely attached infants showed greater engagement in interactional synchrony. Outcomes are then likely to vary according to the infant's attachment style. One possible solution is to examine caregiver-infant interactions across different attachment styles to determine if outcomes vary.
For example, cross-cultural research could also consider differences in attachment styles and parenting practices.
Caregiver-infant interactions – Key takeaways
- Caregiver-infant interactions are interactions between babies or infants and their parents or guardians (the caregivers).
- To study the caregiver-inftant interaction, Ainsworth often used a method called strange situation. She found three types of attachment styles in infants: secure attachment, insecure-resistant attachment, and insecure-avoidant attachment.
- An important example of the caregiver-infant interaction is the Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study which found that the primary attachment of infants to their mothers occurs at about 6-7 months of age.
- Field (1978) found that fathers who were primary caregivers showed interactions with the infant such as smiling, touching, and making sounds, as did their female counterparts. Fathers who were secondary caregivers spent less time and were more engaged in play.
- When we evaluate the caregiver-infant interaction research in psychology, we run into a few common problems and limitations including the reliability of infant testing, observer bias, and individual differences.
Frequently Asked Questions about Caregiver Infant Interactions
We can counter difficulties of investigating caregiver-infant interactions by adding another observer to increase inter-observer reliability, using controlled experimental environments, and studying interactions between different attachment styles.
Research into the interaction between caregivers and children is socially sensitive, as it may suggest that some child-rearing practices are detrimental to children and their development.
Two features of caregiver-infant interaction are reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
Reciprocity in infant-caregiver interaction means that either the caregiver or the infant initiates the interaction, followed by a response. Reciprocity means that the infant and caregiver can elicit responses from each other.
Caregiver-infant interaction is important because it creates a bond between the infant and the caregiver. In turn, it can promote the infant's social and emotional development.
Final Caregiver Infant Interactions Quiz
Question
What are caregiver-infant interactions?
Show answer
Answer
Caregiver-infant interactions are interactions between babies or infants and their parents or guardians (the caregivers). The baby leads the interactions, and the caregiver responds.
Show question
Question
Give three examples of non-verbal communication within caregiver-infant interactions.
Show answer
Answer
Any three examples from the following list are acceptable: eye contact, smiling, facial expressions, sounds, and physical touch.
Show question
Answer
Attachment is an emotional bond with another person that provides feelings of safety and closeness. Attachment is a reciprocal emotional bond in the relationship between caregiver and infant. Reciprocal interactions strengthen the bond.
Show question
Answer
When the caregiver or infant initiates an interaction, responses follow the interaction. We refer to this as reciprocity. When the infant and caregiver elicit responses from each other, it is a sign of reciprocity.
Show question
Question
What is interactional synchrony?
Show answer
Answer
Interactional synchrony means that one person mirrors another person's interactions, such as facial expressions and body language. Caregiver-infant interaction is about the reciprocity of behaviour – it is a 'conversation' using behaviours and emotions.
Show question
Question
What were Condon and Sander's (1974) conclusions?
Show answer
Answer
Condon and Sander concluded that babies pay attention to sounds early on and converse with seemingly random movements and gestures.
Show question
Question
What was the conclusion of Field's (1978) study?
Show answer
Answer
Field (1978) concluded that parental behaviour, not gender, is more important in establishing attachment with the infant. Fathers may exhibit caring behaviours normally associated with mothers.
Show question
Question
According to Bowlby, how are fathers more likely to interact with their children?
Show answer
Question
What did Grossman's (2002) study observe in parents, and how was it measured?
Show answer
Answer
The Grossman (2002) study observed play sensitivity in parents. Play sensitivity was measured using the Sensitive and Challenging Interactive Play Scale (SCIP).
Show question
Question
What were the findings and conclusions of the MacCullum and Golombok (2004) study?
Show answer
Answer
The results of MacCullum and Golombok's (2004) study stated that children who grew up in either a single-parent family or a same-sex family showed no differences in development compared to children who grew up in a heterosexual two-parent family. This suggests that the father's role in child development may not be as important or pronounced.
Show question
Question
Rank the four stages of attachment found by Schaffer and Emerson (1964) according to the age of the infant.
Specific attachment
Asocial
Multiple attachments
Indiscriminate attachment
Show answer
Answer
The order is B, D, A, and C. The four stages of attachment found by Schaffer and Emerson are: asocial (0-6 weeks), indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks - 7 months), specific attachment (7-9 months), and multiple attachments (10 months+).
Show question
Question
Schaffer and Emerson (1974) found that no primary attachment figure exists for infants at 18 months. Is this true or false?
Show answer
Answer
This is false. At 18 months, the mother is still the primary attachment figure for infants.
Show question
Question
What is sensitive responsiveness?
Show answer
Answer
Sensitive responsiveness means responding accurately to an infant or child's responses, such as communicating or playing with the child and responding to their demands. Demands may include crying for attention or asking for something, such as a toy. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that infants are more likely to have a stronger attachment to those who show sensitive responsiveness than those who spend more time with the infant.
Show question
Question
An infant is sitting on the floor, playing with his toy. It sees the caregiver walk by and begins to cry and raises its arms. The caregiver puts down what they were holding and takes the child in their arms to reassure it. The baby stops crying and is content. What does this example represent?
Show answer
Answer
The example represents sensitive responsiveness. The caregiver responded accurately (they picked up the infant) to the infant's needs (the infant was crying and wanted the caregiver to hold it).
Show question
Question
What are some difficulties in researching caregiver infant interactions?
Show answer
Answer
Difficulties include the lack of reliability of testing infants, observer bias, and individual factors such as differences in attachment style.
Show question
Question
What are attachment figures?
Show answer
Answer
Attachment figures are objects or points of attachment for a person. In the context of caregiver infant interactions, an attachment figure is a person with whom a child has an attachment, usually a caregiver. A caregiver may be a biological parent or guardian.
Show question
Question
What was the aim of Field's (1978) study?
Show answer
Answer
Field (1978) examined the role of fathers as primary caregivers compared to mothers.
Show question
Question
Which three types of caregivers did Field's (1978) study examine?
Show answer
Answer
Field (1978) examined the following types of caregivers: primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers, and secondary caregiver fathers.
Show question
Question
What do the findings of Field's (1978) study suggest about the role of the father?
Show answer
Answer
Field's (1978) research suggests fathers can be primary caregivers in the same way mothers can. Thus, fathers can have essential roles as attachment figures.
Show question
Question
What is Bowlby’s theory’s name suggesting infants are predisposed to form one ‘main’ attachment?
Show answer
Answer
The monotropic theory (1969).
Show question
Question
Describe the procedure used in Grossman's (2002) study.
Show answer
Answer
Grossman carried out a longitudinal study and examined both the mother and father's quality of play with the child at the ages of 6, 10 and 16.
Show question
Question
What did the Grossman (2002) study measure and how?
Show answer
Answer
It measured the play sensitivity of both parents using the sensitive and challenging interactive play scale (SCIP).
Show question
Question
The findings in the Grossman (2002) study suggested that fathers do not have an essential role in the child's long-term attachment. Is this true or false?
Show answer
Answer
False. The play sensitivity of the father helped predict the child's long-term attachment. This finding suggests fathers have a stimulatory role in children's development.
Show question
Question
What was the aim of MacCallum and Golombok's (2004) study?
Show answer
Answer
MacCallum and Golombok wanted to compare the development of children from families without a father figure, such as single-parent and same-sex families, with those of children from two-parent, heterosexual families.
Show question
Question
Which three types of families MacCallum and Golombok's (2004) study compared?
Show answer
Answer
MacCallum and Golombok used the following types of families: two-parent heterosexual, two-parent same-sex (lesbian), and single-parent heterosexual (mother) families.
Show question
Question
What were the findings of MacCallum and Golombok's (2004) study?
Show answer
Answer
MacCallum and Golombok found that children from single-parent or same-sex families did not have any major differences in social and emotional development compared to children that grew up in a family with a father. Moreover, children who did not have fathers in their families were not negatively affected by the absence of a father.
Show question
Question
What practical applications can research into the role of the father have?
Show answer
Answer
Research into the role of the father can have useful practical applications such as in social policy, quality of childcare, work-life balance and in adjusting cultural perceptions of child-rearing.
Show question
Question
Which study undermines the importance of the role of the father?
Show answer
Answer
The study of fatherless families by MacCallum and Golombook (2004) undermines the importance of the role of the father as it suggests that the absence of a father does not negatively impact children's development. The study also found no difference in social and emotional development between children with fathers and children without fathers.
Show question
Question
What is the main weakness of the research into the role of the father?
Show answer
Answer
The main weakness of the research into the role of the father is the inconsistency of the findings. There is little agreement in results, which makes it difficult to answer questions about the role of the father.
Show question
Question
Which factors make it difficult to study the role of the father?
Show answer
Answer
Factors such as the father's work-life balance, age, health and attitude towards gender roles make it difficult to study the role of the father.
Show question
Question
Define the stages of attachment.
Show answer
Answer
The stages of attachment in infants are stages of development during which infants form attachments to their primary caregiver and other people around them.
Show question
Question
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study?
Show answer
Answer
Schaffer and Emerson aimed to find the age at which infants start forming attachments. They also wanted to find out with whom they formed these attachments and how strong they were.
Show question
Question
What kind of study was used to observe the infants?
Show answer
Answer
The infants were observed using a longitudinal study.
Show question
Question
What were the intervals at which the infants were observed?
Show answer
Answer
Researchers observed the babies at the following intervals; every four weeks for the first year of the baby’s life and once at 18 months.
Show question
Question
Where were the infants observed in the duration of the study?
Show answer
Answer
Researchers observed the infants in their homes.
Show question
Question
In which two ways did the researchers measure infants’ attachment?
Show answer
Answer
The researchers measured attachment by observing the baby’s behaviour in the scenarios of separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
Show question
Question
At 18 months, what percentage of infants had multiple attachments formed with siblings, grandparents, neighbours, etc.?
Show answer
Question
Which stage of attachment describes the following attachment behaviours? What age is the infant at this stage of attachment?
- Infants start to experience and demonstrate separation anxiety from their primary caregiver.
- A fear of strangers is developed at this age.
Show answer
Answer
This stage of attachment is specific attachment, which occurs around the ages of 7-9 months.
Show question
Question
According to the study, at what age do infants start forming multiple attachments?
Show answer
Answer
At the age of 10 months, infants start forming multiple attachments.
Show question
Question
Who was the infants’ main attachment figure at 18 months?
Show answer
Answer
The infants’ mothers were still the main attachment figures at 18.
Show question
Question
According to the researchers, who are infants more likely to form attachments to?
Show answer
Answer
The researchers concluded that sensitive responsiveness is more critical in infants than who spends more time with the infant. Sensitive responsiveness involves responding to the infant's signals includes communicating and playing with the infant and responding to its demands. Infants are more likely to form attachments to those who show higher levels of sensitive responsiveness.
Show question
Question
Why did Schaffer and Emerson's study have high external validity?
Show answer
Answer
The observation study had high ecological validity as researchers observed the babies in their natural settings (their homes). Their behaviour was natural.
Show question
Question
What is the method of the study replicable?
Show answer
Answer
The method of the study was replicable because researchers visited the infants at regular intervals.
Show question
Question
Why may the parents’ behaviour have affected the findings of the study?
Show answer
Answer
The parents may have shown demand characteristics as they knew they were being observed. This factor may have affected the validity of the results.
Show question
Question
Outline the issue with the sample size of the study.
Show answer
Answer
The sample only consisted of 60 working-class Glaswegian families; it is not representative of a broader population, and therefore, the findings are not generalisable.
Show question
Question
By which method of communication are reciprocity of interactions usually expressed?
Show answer
Question
Caregiver-Infant interactions can be described as a 'conversation through behaviours and emotions'. Is this true or false?
Show answer
Question
What did Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observe?
Show answer
Question
What did Meltzoff and Moore (1977) find?
Show answer
Answer
In their study, they showed infants with pacifiers in their mouths facial expressions or hand gestures to prevent immediate responses. They found that, as soon as they removed the pacifiers, the infants' facial expressions changed depending on which facial expression or hand gesture the adult showed.
Show question
Question
The mother-infant relationship is the same as the father-infant relationship. Is this true or false?
Show answer
Discover the right content for your subjects
No need to cheat if you have everything you need to succeed! Packed into one app!
Study Plan
Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan.
Quizzes
Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes.
Flashcards
Create and find flashcards in record time.
Notes
Create beautiful notes faster than ever before.
Study Sets
Have all your study materials in one place.
Documents
Upload unlimited documents and save them online.
Study Analytics
Identify your study strength and weaknesses.
Weekly Goals
Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them.
Smart Reminders
Stop procrastinating with our study reminders.
Rewards
Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying.
Magic Marker
Create flashcards in notes completely automatically.
Smart Formatting
Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates.
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy