Do 10- and 13-month-old infants provide informative gestures for their mothers in a hiding game?

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Linguistics

Background:

• Infants' communicative abilities develop rapidly in the first year.
• Gazing and pointing are key non-verbal communication methods for infants.
• Understanding communicative intent is crucial for early social-cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the development of infants' communicative signaling (gazing and pointing) at 10 and 13 months.
• To examine how routine versus non-routine contexts affect infant pointing and gazing.
• To explore the link between these communicative acts and infants' Theory of Mind.

Main Methods:

• A hiding game was used to elicit acts of indicating in infants.
• Infants' gazing and pointing behaviors were observed in routine and de-routinized hiding scenarios.
• Mothers' information accessibility was manipulated to test informative pointing.

Main Results:

• At 10 months, infants effectively used gazing and pointing in routine hiding situations.
• 10-month-olds struggled with informative pointing in non-routine contexts.
• 13-month-olds successfully used both gazing and pointing, including informative pointing, in non-routine situations.

Conclusions:

• Infants' ability to use communicative gestures like pointing develops significantly between 10 and 13 months.
• The capacity for informative pointing is linked to an understanding of shared knowledge and epistemic intentions.
• These findings suggest an emerging Theory of Mind in infants, enabling them to consider their partner's perspective.