Child, Caregiver, and Temperament Contributions to Infant Joint Attention

Abstract

Little is known about variables that may contribute to individual differences in infant joint attention, or the coordination of visual attention with a social partner. Therefore, this study examined the contributions of caregiver behavior and temperament to infant joint attention development between 9 and 12 months. Data were collected from 57 infants using a caregiver–infant paradigm, an infant–tester paradigm, and a parent report of infant temperament. Nine‐month measures of caregiver scaffolding and infant initiating joint attention (IJA) with testers were significantly related to 12‐month infant IJA with testers. A temperament measure of positive emotional reactivity was related to 9‐month IJA, and a measure of negative emotional reactivity was related to 12‐month IJA. Temperament and caregiver scaffolding measures, however, were not associated with the development of infant responding to joint attention. These results further the understanding of the multiple processes that contribute to joint attention development in infancy, and support the hypothesis that initiating and responding measures tap different aspects of joint attention development.

Joint attention with the mother and the father at 10 months of age

“…Finally, future research should take into account other qualitative specificities of father-infant interaction, already investigated in mother-infant dyads, such as parent scaffolding (Vaughan et al, 2003) and attachment security . Taking into account infant characteristics like temperament and emotion regulation, and how these might impact differentially on the development of joint attentional skills in infancy with different social partners could also be a fruitful research avenue.…”

“…Joint attention skills are frequently assessed in terms of infants' ability (i) to respond to a social partner's bids to share a common attentional focus, for example by following other's gaze or pointing gesture, and (ii) to spontaneously initiate joint attention by looking at, pointing, offering, or showing objects to the social partner Osório, Martins, Meins, Martins, & Soares, 2011). To study these behaviors, infant-tester paradigms have been developed (e.g., Mundy et al, 2007;Sheinkopf et al, 2004) under the assumption that those might maximize individual differences in infants' joint attentional abilities (Vaughan et al, 2003). However, infant-caregiver interaction paradigms have also been developed and used in the past decade (Gaffan, Martins, Healy, & Murray, 2010;Martins, 2003;Meins et al, 2011;Osório et al, 2011).…”

“…Moreover, motherinfant paradigms address the study of the contributions of the relational context to infants' individual differences in joint attention (e.g., Gaffan et al, 2010;Mundy & Sigman, 2006;Osório et al, 2011). Indeed, previous investigations have highlighted how mothers may "scaffold" infants' Running Head: JOINT ATTENTION WITH THE MOTHER AND THE FATHER 4 early joint attention behaviors, for instance, by showing, talking about, or performing actions on an object (e.g., Bakeman & Adamson, 1984;Gaffan et al, 2010;Vaughan et al, 2003). Furthermore, maternal interactive characteristics, such as sensitivity and the ability to follow infant's focus of attention, have been found to foster the developing capacity to engage in triadic interactions (e.g., Hobson, Patrick, Crandell, Pérez, & Lee, 2004;Legerstee, Markova, & Fisher, 2007).…”

Establishment of Joint Attention in Dyads Involving Hearing Mothers of Deaf and Hearing Children, and Its Relation to Adaptive Social Behavior

“…Joint attention begins to develop around 12 to 18 months of age in typically developing children (Charman et al, 2000;Sheinkopf, Mundy, Claussen, & Willoughby, 2004;Tomasello & Farrar, 1986), and is a theoretically well-established construct in the early adaptive and socioemotional development literature (Claussen, Mundy, Mallik, & Willoughby, 2002;Dube, MacDonald, Mansfield, Holcomb, & Ahearn, 2004;Greenspan, 1990;Ingsholt, 2002;Mundy & Gomes, 1998;Mundy & Neal, 2001;Mundy & Willoughby, 1996;Sheinkopf et al, 2004;Tomasello, 1995;Trevarthen & Aitken, 2001;Vaughan et al, 2003).…”

Joint Attention Impairment in Autism: Clinical Picture, Rationale and Functional MRI Findings

“…That is why joint attention is a pivotal skill in a child's social/communicative path, paving the way toward language development [1]. Impairment of joint attention before 1 year is one of the earliest indicators of autism [2].…”