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Infants' gestures influence mothers' provision of object, action and internal state labels*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2011

JANET OLSON  and
ELISE FRANK MASUR
JANET OLSON*
Affiliation:
Northern Illinois University
ELISE FRANK MASUR
Affiliation:
Northern Illinois University
*
Address for correspondence: Janet Olson, School of Allied Health & Communicative Disorders, Northern Illinois, University, DeKalb, IL 60115. tel: 815-753-1401; fax : 815-753-9123; e-mail: janet@niu.edu
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Abstract

Twenty-four infants at 1 ; 1 and their mothers were videotaped for 18 minutes while playing. Infants' pointing, reaching and object-extending gestures were coded in three communicative intent contexts: proto-declarative, or commenting; proto-imperative, or requesting; and ambiguous. Mothers' responses to infants' gestures were coded as object labels, action labels, internal state labels and non-labeling utterances. Infants most often pointed in the proto-declarative and used object extensions in the proto-imperative context. Infants produced pointing and reaching equivalently in the ambiguous context. Mothers' responses included object labels more often in response to points than object extensions. In contrast, mothers provided action labels most often in response to object extensions. Mothers produced large proportions of internal state labels, although the type varied by gesture. Results suggest mothers' labels following infants' gestures may serve as a mechanism for vocabulary acquisition and internal state understanding.

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Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 38 , Issue 5 , November 2011 , pp. 1028 - 1054
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

[*]

Analyses in this study are based on the dissertation research of the first author. Portions of the results were presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Baltimore, March, 2010. The authors thank Emily Block and Grace Wybourn for assistance coding; Jihee Hong, Carrie Lloyd, Leigh Mangun and Trish Schnell for assistance collecting and managing data; and the participating children and mothers.

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