Developmental Changes in Pointing as a Function of Attentional Focus

Three experiments investigate the effect of a parent's attentional focus on the pointing of children from 1 to 2 years of age. Children were presented with an interesting sight on one or the other side of a laboratory room while the parent was either looking toward that side or not. The results show that 1-year-olds are more likely to point when the parent is looking at them, whether or not the parent has already seen the interesting sight. In contrast, 2-year-olds tend to point more both when the partner has not seen and when she is no longer looking at the sight than when she is looking at it. These findings are consistent with the idea that when they first start to point, infants use the gesture to enhance the interaction rather than to redirect the attention of the partner. By 2 years of age, children point to redirect attention to an interesting sight and to share attention with a communicative partner.