An examination of spontaneous pointing in 20- to 50-month-old children.

Occurrences of spontaneous pointing in 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-mo.-old children were observed during the children's indoor or outdoor free-play periods. Observers recorded the sex of the pointer, the behavioral pattern observed, the reason for the point, the response of the adult, and the distance of the child from the adult at the time of a point. Analysis indicated a significant dip in the rate of pointing among the 30-mo.-olds while the 20- and 50-mo.-olds were observed to point most often. With the exception of the 30-mo.-olds, pointing was significantly more likely to be observed in boys. For all age groups, the point was used primarily to name. After 20 months adults were significantly less likely to respond to the point, and when they did respond they were more likely to name or demonstrate irrespective of the apparent reason for the child's point. Finally, the probability of adults' response appeared to be unrelated to the distance from the child to the adult, and further, the likelihood of an adult's response appeared to exert little influence on the rate of pointing. The results suggest that pointing may be an expressive act that can be used as a communicative gesture, but there was little evidence that any of these age groups were using the point as a ritualized gesture, that is, as an action conventionalized within the context of social interaction.