Sensitive caregiving fosters the comprehension of speech: When gestures speak louder than words

Journal/Book: Early Development Parenting. 1996; 5: Baffins Lane, Chichester, W Sussex, England PO19 1UD. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 195-211.

Abstract: Despite a variety of theoretical arguments to the contrary, sensitive caregiving makes an important contribution to the comprehension and emergence of speech. This research, informed by social ecological realism, documented that during the prelinguistic and one-word periods, caregivers routinely provided additional perceptual structure to their infants following communicative breakdowns. This sensitive adjusting of subsequent messages to infants contributed significantly to reaching a common understanding. Caregivers also modified their verbal messages in subsequent turns by making them more specific. In contrast, however, these elaborations did not contribute to achieving a practical consensus regarding ongoing events. These results suggest that the social ecological realist approach informing this research has important implications for theory, reviewing past empirical findings and future research.

Note: Article ZukowGoldring P, Univ Calif Los Angeles, Ctr Study Women, Los Angeles,CA 90024 USA

Keyword(s): ecological realism; gesture; infant speech comprehension; sensitive caregiving; LANGUAGE; CONVERSATION; ACQUISITION; ATTENTION; INPUT; CHILD

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