Two experiments examined the origins of joint visual attention with a training procedure. In Experiment 1, infants aged 6-11 months were tested for a gaze-following (joint visual attention) response under feedback and no feedback conditions. In Experiment 2, infants 8-9 months received feedback for either following the experimenter's gaze (natural group) or looking to the opposite side (unnatural group). Results of the 2 experiments indicate that (a) joint visual attention does not reliably appear prior to 10 months of age, (b) from about 8 months of age, a gaze-following response can be learned, and (c) simple learning is not sufficient as the mechanism through which joint attention cues acquire their signal value.

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This experiment investigates the role of eye direction in infant joint visual attention.Sixty-three infants aged from 8 to 19 months participated in a training study in which they were shown adult eye turns in association with the appearance of an interesting sight to one or the other side. It was only at 18-19 months ofage that infants showed a reliable ability to use the adult eye turns to predict the side of appearance of the target. this finding suggests that before 18 months ofage, infants do not recognize the significance of eye direction for joint visual attention.* Requests for reprints (e-mail: moorec@is.dal.ca).

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This longitudinal study was designed to examine the CDI-WORDS Short Form vocabulary checklist (Reznick & Goldsmith, 1989) as an index of language production. In particular, we were curious about: (1) the concurrent associations between the CDI-WORDS Short Form checklist measure and directly observed measures of lexical production; (2) the associations between Short Form checklists administered at different ages; and (3) the predictive associations between Short Form scores and subsequent measures of more general intellectual abilities (i.e. the Wechlser Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence; WPPSIR; Wechsler, 1989). In a sample of 32 children, significant correlations were found between CDI-WORDS Short Form scores and directly observed measures of lexical production at both 1;6 and 2;0. Further, both the Short Form checklist and the observed measure of lexical production were found to predict WPPSI-R Verbal IQ scores but not the Performance IQ scores at 4;0. Additional analyses demonstrated the predictive and convergent validity of the CDI-WORDS Short Form, and underscored the additional value of direct observational measures of lexical production during early lexical development.