Gaze Following Is Not Dependent on Ostensive Cues: A Critical Test of Natural Pedagogy

The theory of natural pedagogy stipulates that infants follow gaze because they are sensitive to the communicative intent of others. According to this theory, gaze following should be present if, and only if, accompanied by at least one of a set of specific ostensive cues. The current article demons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2018-11, Vol.89 (6), p.2091-2098
Main Authors: Gredebäck, Gustaf, Astor, Kim, Fawcett, Christine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Between-subjects design
Child Development
Cues
EMPIRICAL REPORTS
Infant Behavior
Infants
Interpersonal Relationship
Learning Processes
Nonverbal Communication
Pedagogy
Teaching
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Summary:The theory of natural pedagogy stipulates that infants follow gaze because they are sensitive to the communicative intent of others. According to this theory, gaze following should be present if, and only if, accompanied by at least one of a set of specific ostensive cues. The current article demonstrates gaze following in a range of contexts, both with and without expressions of communicative intent in a between-subjects design with a large sample of 6-month-old infants (n = 94). Thus, conceptually replicating prior results from Szufnarowska et al. (2014) and falsifying a central pillar of the natural pedagogy theory. The results suggest that there are opportunities to learn from others' gaze independently of their displayed communicative intent.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.13026