Pg 1 of 5

Gail Adams

T.M.A 02

U7740974

First Relationships

Hobson 1993 argued that babies come into the world with an eagerness to relate to others. Relationships with significant others are important to our psychological life. Relationships between children and their caregivers are also important for not only their physical but emotional needs as well.

The relationships that build between infant and caregiver is vital for the development of the infant in their future as adults.

In the weeks after they are born babies have limited abilities to interact with adults who look after them but as they get older they become more and more equal partners in creating and upholding their relationships.

There are many different aids that contribute towards the development and enhance relationships. Three main features of early development are meshing, scaffolding and imitation. Each contributes to early development of the infant. Many psychologists through research have used these aids to make claims or object about the abilities of infants to interact with caregivers.

Meshing is the behaviour that adults and infants undertake when forming early relationships. During interaction each individuals behaviour seems to fit in with the others. Both child and caregiver seem to smoothly integrate with each other and each persons contribution fits in with the others. Turn-taking is a prominent feature of meshing dominantly lead by the caregiver. Mutual action occurs of expressions and signals of emotion. Meshing can be verbal or non-verbal with body language like nods and eye contact that signal ongoing attention. Both infant and caregiver do not need to be skilled in this interaction as the adult pre-dominantly fits their behaviour around the infants.

These forms of dialogue are called pseudo-dialogues. Through this type of interaction the infant begins to form representations of others as well as their own behaviour and they also learn the responsiveness of others. The pseudo-dialogue then turns to proto-dialogue and the infant will then begin to play an active role.

Meshing creates a valuable social interaction for the infant and it plays an important role in an infants development because it provides the infant with the experience of taking part in a dialogue. This unique interaction gives the child its first experience of relatedness.

Meshing can have a conversation-like quality which is a valuable first experience for babies. No other object in the infants world can offer the infant this experience of interaction. The infants behaviour can bring a responsiveness from the adult that gives the infant a sense of relatedness, their actions can produce a sense of being closely engaged with something very attuned to them. This is a valuable social experience for the infant.
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Pg 2 of 5

Gail Adams

T.M.A 02

U7740974

Meshing can be seen to have strong links with behaviourism because of the influence of the environment. The mother reinforces and the child's actions are rewarded, praised and encouraged to some extent and this is a major theory of behaviourism. Behaviourism sees the importance of the child being tutored as in meshing when the mother tutors her child. Although behaviourism does not explain the internal processes of learning on the part of the child's own interpretation of the interaction and its own role rather they ...

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