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Newborn Infants Selectively Attend to Points That Refer to Objects

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Title: Newborn Infants Selectively Attend to Points That Refer to Objects
Language: English
Authors: Alessandra Geraci (ORCID 0000-0003-1375-9190), Luca Surian (ORCID 0000-0001-6463-2953), Lucia Gabriella Tina (ORCID 0000-0003-4074-6192), Paola Perucchini (ORCID 0000-0001-6745-6270), J. Kiley Hamlin (ORCID 0000-0001-6173-9878)
Source: Developmental Science. 2026 29(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Infants, Infant Behavior, Attention, Cues, Nonverbal Communication, Visual Stimuli
DOI: 10.1111/desc.70147
ISSN: 1363-755X
1467-7687
Abstract: Recognizing that certain acts are communicative is a key requirement of the development of communicative skills. Newborn infants have been shown to selectively respond to certain ostensive cues, including mutual gaze and infant directed speech, supporting theories of the evolution of ostensive-inferential communication. That said, no study has yet examined newborns' responses to pointing gestures, nor whether these responses are sensitive to pointing as an ostensive cue. The current study investigates whether a sensitivity to pointing is present in 5-day-old newborns by comparing newborns' attention to a pointing hand versus a fist via a preferential looking paradigm. Across 4 Experiments with 5 conditions (N = 90), we manipulated several key factors in the communicative nature of pointing: (a) the presence versus absence of a referred-to target (Experiment 1), (b) whether the pointing entity was social versus non-social (Experiment 3), and (c) whether or not the point referred to a target by moving toward versus away from it (Experiment 4). Newborns in Experiment 1 looked longer at a pointing human hand than a non-pointing fist, but only in the presence of a target object; attention to a target-directed point was replicated in Experiment 2. In contrast, newborns in Experiments 3 and 4 showed no visual preference for an arrow over a disc when each moved toward a target, nor for a point over a fist when each moved away from a target. Together, these results are the first to suggest that newborn infants are sensitive to a key communicative gesture, pointing, and that their responses are specific to points that are both social (i.e., human hands) and communicative (i.e., referential). These findings support the existence of an experience-independent sensitivity to pointing as an ostensive signal, consistent with theories of the evolution of ostensive-inferential communication.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1498528
Database: ERIC
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alessandra+Geraci%22">Alessandra Geraci</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1375-9190">0000-0003-1375-9190</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Luca+Surian%22">Luca Surian</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6463-2953">0000-0001-6463-2953</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lucia+Gabriella+Tina%22">Lucia Gabriella Tina</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4074-6192">0000-0003-4074-6192</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paola+Perucchini%22">Paola Perucchini</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6745-6270">0000-0001-6745-6270</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22J%2E+Kiley+Hamlin%22">J. Kiley Hamlin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6173-9878">0000-0001-6173-9878</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Science%22"><i>Developmental Science</i></searchLink>. 2026 29(2).
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: 10.1111/desc.70147
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  Data: Recognizing that certain acts are communicative is a key requirement of the development of communicative skills. Newborn infants have been shown to selectively respond to certain ostensive cues, including mutual gaze and infant directed speech, supporting theories of the evolution of ostensive-inferential communication. That said, no study has yet examined newborns' responses to pointing gestures, nor whether these responses are sensitive to pointing as an ostensive cue. The current study investigates whether a sensitivity to pointing is present in 5-day-old newborns by comparing newborns' attention to a pointing hand versus a fist via a preferential looking paradigm. Across 4 Experiments with 5 conditions (N = 90), we manipulated several key factors in the communicative nature of pointing: (a) the presence versus absence of a referred-to target (Experiment 1), (b) whether the pointing entity was social versus non-social (Experiment 3), and (c) whether or not the point referred to a target by moving toward versus away from it (Experiment 4). Newborns in Experiment 1 looked longer at a pointing human hand than a non-pointing fist, but only in the presence of a target object; attention to a target-directed point was replicated in Experiment 2. In contrast, newborns in Experiments 3 and 4 showed no visual preference for an arrow over a disc when each moved toward a target, nor for a point over a fist when each moved away from a target. Together, these results are the first to suggest that newborn infants are sensitive to a key communicative gesture, pointing, and that their responses are specific to points that are both social (i.e., human hands) and communicative (i.e., referential). These findings support the existence of an experience-independent sensitivity to pointing as an ostensive signal, consistent with theories of the evolution of ostensive-inferential communication.
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      – SubjectFull: Infants
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Infant Behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attention
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      – SubjectFull: Cues
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      – SubjectFull: Nonverbal Communication
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      – SubjectFull: Visual Stimuli
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