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Twelve‐month‐olds point to share attention and interest
Author(s) -
Liszkowski Ulf,
Carpenter Malinda,
Henning Anne,
Striano Tricia,
Tomasello Michael
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2004.00349.x
Subject(s) - psychology , gaze , developmental psychology , joint attention , point (geometry) , event (particle physics) , cognitive psychology , physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , autism , psychoanalysis
Infants point for various motives. Classically, one such motive is declarative, to share attention and interest with adults to events. Recently, some researchers have questioned whether infants have this motivation. In the current study, an adult reacted to 12‐month‐olds’ pointing in different ways, and infants’ responses were observed. Results showed that when the adult shared attention and interest (i.e. alternated gaze and emoted), infants pointed more frequently across trials and tended to prolong each point – presumably to prolong the satisfying interaction. However, when the adult emoted to the infant alone or looked only to the event, infants pointed less across trials and repeated points more within trials – presumably in an attempt to establish joint attention. Results suggest that 12‐month‐olds point declaratively and understand that others have psychological states that can be directed and shared.