Abstract Infants can extend their index fingers soon after birth, yet pointing gestures do not emerge until about 10 to 12 months. In the present study, we draw on the process-relational view, according to which pointing develops as infants learn how others respond to their initially non-communicative index finger use. We report on a longitudinal maternal diary study of 15 infants and describe four types of index finger use in the first year. Analysis of the observations suggests one possible developmental pathway: index finger extension becomes linked to infants’ attention around 7 to 9 months of age with the emergence of fingertip exploration and index finger extension towards out-of-reach objects infants wish to explore. Through parental responses infants begin to use index finger touch to refer in some situations, including asking and answering questions and to request, suggesting that some functions of pointing might originate in early index finger use.

中文翻译：

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从接触到交流

摘要 婴儿出生后不久就可以伸出食指，但大约 10 至 12 个月后才会出现指示手势。在本研究中，我们借鉴了过程关系的观点，根据这种观点，随着婴儿学习其他人如何对他们最初不交流的食指使用做出反应，指点会发展。我们报告了一项对 15 名婴儿进行的纵向母亲日记研究，并描述了第一年食指的四种使用方式。对观察结果的分析表明了一种可能的发展途径：随着指尖探索和食指伸向婴儿希望探索的遥不可及的物体，食指伸展与婴儿在 7 至 9 个月大时的注意力有关。通过父母的反应，婴儿在某些情况下开始使用食指触摸来指称，