The role of pointing in the immediate and displaced references in early mother-child communication

Abstract

This study longitudinally explores how mothers and children use and combine pointing and verbal references to objects that are either present or absent in space. Over one year of observations and in five separate sessions, eight Spanish mothers and their 1- and 2-year-old babies were observed while performing daily routines at home. Overall, both mothers and children used the immediate reference more than the displaced reference. Children were less likely to pair pointing with speech in displaced situations than in present situations; instead, they seemed more likely to refer to absent objects using only speech. Mothers, while still are more likely to point in present situations rather than in displaced ones, did use pointing + speech combinations more often than their childreni in displaced situations. Overall, mother and child production of immediate and displaced references across ages were strongly correlated suggesting a new facet of ‘motherese’ for the early development of referential production.