The emergence of pointing as a communicative gesture: Age-related differences in infants’ non-social and social use of the index finger

The emergence of pointing is a central developmental achievement. Yet, little is known on its ontogenetic roots. Influential developmental theories have proposed that pointing is based on a variety of earlier emerging non-communicative uses of the index finger. To this end, we administered a parent questionnaire and investigated age-related differences in 3- to 24-month-old infants’ (n = 168) use of the index finger for social and non-social functions. Results demonstrate that early in development the index finger is mainly used for non-social purposes – with touching being the most prominent category, and desire for an object and un-intentional movements being further relevant categories. In contrast, imitation was hardly present and became only prominent with the onset of the social function of pointing around 10 months. Overall, the study contributes to a theoretical controversy on the early ontogeny of pointing. It is in line with theoretical views that pointing originates in non-communicative uses of the index finger, most notably touching, and gains its social function in the course of early development.