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Files to support: "The Effect of Different Pointing Gestures on Infants' Visual attention and Fast Mapping during Shared Picture-Book Reading

Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: This experimental study will examine how different pointing gestures—index-finger and thumb pointing—influence infants’ visual attention and fast mapping during shared picture-book reading. Caregivers naturally switch between index-finger and thumb pointing when labelling pictures in a book. However, thumb pointing may be less effective than index-finger pointing in directing infants’ attention and supporting fast mapping, because infants might interpret it as holding the book rather than a referential act linking words to pictures. While we hypothesise that both pointing gestures will enhance infants’ visual attention and fast mapping compared to no gesture, we predict that index-finger pointing will be more effective than thumb pointing. Thirty typically developing English infants aged 13–15 months will participate in a two-phase experiment. In the training phase, infants will watch shared picture-book reading videos teaching them novel labels for novel objects. We will manipulate whether a pointing gesture (index-finger, thumb, or no gesture) cues the labelled object. Using an eye-tracker, infants’ visual attention towards target objects will be measured immediately after cueing. In the test phase, infants will then view the same objects without gestures, and their fast mapping of labels to objects will be assessed via gaze preference. This study will identify multimodal behaviours that best support infants’ visual attention and fast mapping during shared picture-book reading, offering new insights into how social and cognitive processes interact to shape early language development.
DOI: 10.17605/osf.io/hfujc
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W6962497292
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