Abstract
To understand the development of nonverbal communication, the manual gestures of 11 infants between 9 and 15 months of age were observed while they played with their mothers several times a month. Infants were more likely than their mothers to request objects and less likely to respond to requests for objects, suggesting a relatively acquisitive style of interaction. The proportion of infant requests that involved a vocalization rose with age, suggesting that infants increasingly use vocalizations to emphasize instrumental communications. Infant gazing at mother was most likely during offers that infants initiated without a preceding maternal request. When infants gestured and gazed at mother, they also tended to smile. Unsolicited offers involving gazing at mother and smiling appear to index self-initiated, positive social contact. The results help distinguish between instrumental and social approach functions of nonverbal conventional communication.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 566-590 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Merrill-Palmer Quarterly |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 4 |
State | Published - Oct 1 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)