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Homology in the development of triadic interaction and language
Author(s) -
Moore Chris
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21032
Subject(s) - homology (biology) , linguistics , focus (optics) , psychology , language development , communication , variation (astronomy) , word (group theory) , cognitive science , computer science , developmental psychology , biology , philosophy , genetics , physics , gene , astrophysics , optics
Conceiving of development with reference to homology can help identify developmental continuity where surface form shows considerable variation across age. I argue that there is a homology of structure between the object‐centred, or triadic, interactions that emerge in infancy and later language. The structure of triadic interaction in infancy is first described as involving joint attention and joint engagement about a shared topic, and then a case is made that this structure is maintained through three levels of complexity in language—single word utterances, multiword utterances, and finally complex constructions. A focus on the homological relation between these social interactive structures may be useful in revealing developmental continuities where these may be obscured by quite different surface forms. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 55: 59–66, 2013.