A Piagetian approach to infant referential behaviors

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
06:35

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

Jaime L Dice1, Meghan K Dove

  • 1Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA. jdice@uri.edu

Infant Behavior & Development
|May 28, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Infants

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Infant Behavior

Background:

  • Infants near one year old exhibit referential behaviors.
  • These behaviors are often interpreted as early signs of joint attention.
  • Joint attention involves coordinating shared attention with another person.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To offer an alternative explanation for infant referential behaviors.
  • To re-interpret existing research on infant joint attention.
  • To explore cognitive processes underlying infant behavior without assuming advanced social cognition.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis drawing on Piaget's constructivist theory.
  • Re-interpretation of empirical research on infant referential behaviors.
  • Focus on motor signifiers of thought and goal-directed actions.

Main Results:

  • Infant referential behaviors can be explained without invoking advanced social cognitive abilities.
  • These behaviors may represent motor signifiers of infant thought processes.
  • Infants appear to recognize humans as significant objects for their goal-directed behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • A constructivist framework offers a viable alternative to social cognitive explanations for infant joint attention.
  • Future research should consider motor and cognitive development in understanding infant referential behaviors.
  • A comprehensive understanding of infant cognition requires examining these behaviors through a developmental lens.

More Related Videos

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization05:35

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms07:31

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Related Concept Videos

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood01:25

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development emphasizes the role of thinking in a child's learning process, suggesting that children are naturally curious about their environment. His approach to development is discontinuous, proposing that cognitive abilities progress through distinct stages, each with unique characteristics. Central to Piaget's theory is schemata—mental structures that allow individuals to understand and interpret the world.
Schemata: Building Blocks of Knowledge
Schemata...
Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development

The preoperational stage, the second of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, spans approximately ages 2 to 7 and is characterized by the emergence of symbolic thinking. During this stage, children use language, images, and symbols to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in imaginative and pretend play. This symbolic thinking supports children's ability to perform make-believe actions, such as imagining a broom as a horse or their hand as a phone, blending...
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...
Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development01:17

Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development

During Piaget's concrete operational stage, from ages 7 to 11, children exhibit a marked increase in logical thinking skills, specifically in relation to tangible, real-world events. This stage is characterized by the development of several essential cognitive concepts, including conservation, reversibility, and classification, all of which support the child's evolving capacity for structured thought.
Conservation and Constancy of Quantity
A significant cognitive milestone in the concrete...
Piaget's Stage 4 of Cognitive Development01:19

Piaget's Stage 4 of Cognitive Development

The formal operational stage, as described in Piaget's cognitive development theory, begins around age 11 and extends into adulthood. It marks the emergence of advanced cognitive abilities that differentiate adolescent and adult thinking from those of younger children. This stage is characterized by abstract reasoning, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, and a more complex understanding of self and others.
Abstract Reasoning and Hypothetical-Deductive Thinking
Unlike the concrete operational...