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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
07:31

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

Published on: February 8, 2019

Infant pointing serves an interrogative function.

Katarina Begus1, Victoria Southgate

  • 1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, UK.

Developmental Science
|August 29, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants point to gain information, not just to share attention. They selectively seek information from knowledgeable individuals, demonstrating early social cognition geared towards learning.

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Last Updated: May 19, 2026

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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Human Social Cognition

Background:

  • Infant pointing behavior is increasingly studied for its role in social cognition.
  • Previous research suggests pointing primarily serves to share attention and foster cooperation.
  • An alternative hypothesis posits pointing aims to acquire information from others.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if infants point to obtain information rather than solely to share attention.
  • To determine if infants modulate their pointing based on the perceived competence of the interaction partner.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: 16-month-olds interacted with either a knowledgeable or ignorant experimenter.
  • Experiment 2: Confirmed the effect was due to perceived competence, not differential responses.
  • Measured pointing frequency towards novel objects in different experimental conditions.

Main Results:

  • Infants pointed significantly more at novel objects when interacting with a knowledgeable experimenter.
  • This increased pointing was linked to the experimenter's perceived competence.
  • The findings were not attributable to variations in how the experimenter responded to infant points.

Conclusions:

  • Infant pointing serves the function of information acquisition.
  • Infants strategically direct their pointing to individuals perceived as competent information sources.
  • This highlights a sophisticated aspect of early social learning and information seeking.