Recognizing Communicative Intentions in Infancy

TLDR

The study proposes three related hypotheses about the development of receptive communication in human infants. The authors argue that communicative intentions can be recognized before their content is inferred, by decoding specialized ostensive signals. Empirically, infants can recognize communicative intentions addressed to them by decoding ostensive signals, which facilitates learning about communication modes.

Abstract

I make three related proposals concerning the development of receptive communication in human infants. First, I propose that the presence of communicative intentions can be recognized in others' behaviour before the content of these intentions is accessed or inferred. Second, I claim that such recognition can be achieved by decoding specialized ostensive signals. Third, I argue on empirical bases that, by decoding ostensive signals, human infants are capable of recognizing communicative intentions addressed to them. Thus, learning about actual modes of communication benefits from, and is guided by, infants' preparedness to detect infant‐directed ostensive communication.