Towards a Mechanism of Joint Visual Attention in Human Infancy

Abstract

Three experiments are reported which aim to distinguish between mechanisms that might serve joint visual attention between human infants and adults. Between 6 and 18 months of age, the infant will adjust his (or her) line of gaze contingent on a change in the adult's focus of attention but behaves as if the adult is referring to loci within the infants' visual space. Thus, if the adult looks behind the infant, the infant scans the space in front of him. Various explanations of this phenomenon and of the capacity for joint visual attention are discussed.