TY - JOUR
T1 - Infant pointing
T2 - Communication to cooperate or communication to learn?
AU - Southgate, Victoria
AU - Van Maanen, Catharine
AU - Csibra, Gergely
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - Tomasello, Carpenter, and Liszkowski (2007) present compelling data to support the view that infant pointing, from the outset, is communicative and deployed in many of the same situations in which adults would ordinarily point for one another, either to share their interest in something, or to informatively help the other person. This commentary concurs with the view that infant pointing is a communicative gesture, but challenges their interpretation of the motives behind pointing in 12-month-olds. An alternative account is proposed, according to which infant pointing is neither declarative nor imperative, but interrogative, and rather than being driven by the motive to share or help, it may serve a powerful cultural learning mechanism by which infants can obtain information from knowledgeable adults.
AB - Tomasello, Carpenter, and Liszkowski (2007) present compelling data to support the view that infant pointing, from the outset, is communicative and deployed in many of the same situations in which adults would ordinarily point for one another, either to share their interest in something, or to informatively help the other person. This commentary concurs with the view that infant pointing is a communicative gesture, but challenges their interpretation of the motives behind pointing in 12-month-olds. An alternative account is proposed, according to which infant pointing is neither declarative nor imperative, but interrogative, and rather than being driven by the motive to share or help, it may serve a powerful cultural learning mechanism by which infants can obtain information from knowledgeable adults.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34248677866&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01028.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01028.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 17517000
AN - SCOPUS:34248677866
SN - 0009-3920
VL - 78
SP - 735
EP - 740
JO - Child Development
JF - Child Development
IS - 3
ER -