Abstract
Joint attention enables infants to communicate with adults as well as with each other, sharing what is in their minds. Yet, communicative competence and joint attention between infant peers have received little attention in the literature. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how infants under the age of two within a childcare setting communicate with each other through joint attention and social understanding during daily interactions. Findings indicated that infants utilized various communicative means, intentional pointing, and joint attention in order to share their experience with each other, develop social understanding, and enjoy social joint play. This study also suggests that conflicts between infants can be a fundamental vehicle for developing social understanding and joint play activity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 309-317 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Early Childhood Research |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 16 Oct 2012 |
Keywords
- conflict
- infancy
- joint attention
- qualitative research
- social play
- social understanding