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    On pointing, cognition, and stray dogs... →

    crookedindifference:

    The argument goes something like this. When young infants begin reaching for objects just out of their range, adults are most likely to respond to those reaching attempts and to retrieve the item for the baby when the latter’s index finger is more prominently extended. That is to say, initially, the adult mistakenly reads into the child’s reaching attempt as a communicative gesture on the part of the child. Over time, this dynamic between the child and adult serves to further “pull out” the index finger because the child implicitly learns the behavioral association, so that it slowly becomes a genuine pointing gesture. There are several varieties of pointing, and this is important for understanding why dogs’ comprehension of the gesture matters. Typically, before 18 to 24 months of age, pointing is used to manipulate others’ behaviors only, just like we’ve seen in the description above. If a baby drops her toy on the ground and points to it while looking at you, she’s basically saying, “Well, what are you waiting for, give it to me!” In developmental science jargon, this is called imperative pointing because it’s more or less a demand. But as children’s brains continue to develop, and once they’re able to conceptualize others as conversational partners who have minds that hold information, pointing becomes declarative . The two-year-old now uses pointing to say, “Hey, look over there!” because she recognizes that youre not aware of whatever it is (the neighbor’s cat in the bushes, the exorbitantly large man eating a snow cone at the park) and wants to share this fascinating information with you. In fact, difficulties with comprehension and production of declarative pointing are often used as diagnostic indicators of autism in young children, a disorder characterized by social cognitive impairments.

    Fascinating article.

    Source: crookedindifference

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