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Correlates of infant pointing frequency in the first year

Ebru Ger1, Aylin C Küntay2, Sura Ertaş2

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
|September 25, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Infant pointing frequency increases with age, with higher socioeconomic status (SES) linked to faster development. Maternal pointing did not influence infant pointing, but following targets behind them did, suggesting advanced understanding develops post-pointing.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Infant Development

Background:

  • Infant pointing is a crucial communicative gesture.
  • Understanding its developmental trajectory and correlates informs theories of cognitive and social development.
  • Early pointing is linked to later language and cognitive skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate concurrent correlates of infant pointing frequency.
  • To contribute to the ontogenetic theories of infant pointing development.
  • To examine the influence of socioeconomic status, maternal pointing, and infant point following on pointing frequency.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 56 infants from 8 to 12 months of age.
  • Monthly measurement of index-finger pointing frequency.
  • Assessment of family socioeconomic status (SES), maternal pointing frequency, and infant point following to targets in front and behind.

Main Results:

  • Infant pointing frequency increased with age, with a steeper increase observed in high-SES infants.
  • High-SES infants showed higher pointing frequency than low-SES infants from 10 months onward.
  • Maternal pointing frequency was not associated with infant pointing frequency.
  • Infant point following to targets behind their visual field was positively associated with pointing frequency at 12 months.

Conclusions:

  • Family SES significantly impacts infant pointing development, beyond maternal pointing.
  • The development of pointing is associated with the ability to follow points to targets behind the infant.
  • Pointing production may facilitate the emergence of higher-level referential understanding.

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