Effects of gesture and target on 12-and 18-month-olds' joint visual attention to objects in front of or behind them

Factors affecting joint visual attention in 12- and Ii-month-olds were inve stigated. In Experiment 1 infants responded to 1 of 3 parental gestures: lo oking, looking and pointing, or looking, pointing, and verbalizing. Target objects were either identical to or distinctive from distracter objects. Ta rgets were in front of or behind the infant to test G. E. Butterworth's (19 91b) hypothesis that 12-month-olds do not follow gaze to objects behind the m. Pointing elicited more episodes of joint visual attention than looking a lone. Distinctive targets elicited more episodes of joint visual attention than identical targets. Although infants most reliably followed gestures to targets in front of them, even 12-month-olds followed gestures to targets behind them. In Experiment 2 parents were rotated so that the magnitude of their head turns to fixate front and back targets was equivalent. Infants l ooked more at front than at back targets, but there was also an effect of m agnitude of head turn. Infants' relative neglect of back targets is partly due to the "size" of adult's gesture.