A Case-Study Assessment of ‘Pointing’ during the First Three Months of Life

Abstract

The emergence and behavioral organization of the earliest form of ‘pointing’ was examined through the use of microanalytic measures applied to bouts of face-to-face interaction. A female infant and her mother were videotaped in a semi naturalistic setting once a week for the first 12 weeks of the infant's life. Trained coders transcribed maternal and infant behavior into time-based, event-concurrent, mutually exclusive categories of action. One central question was addressed: are there behavioral regularities (i.e., sequential, temporal, co-occurrent or contingent patterns of organization) in the display of a ‘point’ when considered with other movements of the infant's hands, expressive movements of the face, and categories of maternal behavior. Analysis indicated that ‘pointing’ was a relatively stable and continuous activity across the first three months of this infant's life. ‘Pointing’ occurred in eight of the 12 sessions examined, with the first ‘point’ observed at 18 days of age. Moreover, a significant majority of the ‘pointing’ occurred with the right hand. Finally, specific occurrences of ‘pointing’ were sequentially organized with movements of the same hand and co-occurred with movements of the eyes and mouth. It was suggested that these early ‘points’ may already be a separate part of a cluster of orienting behaviors that appear soon after birth.