Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition

IntroductionEarly attentional processes are inherently linked with early parent-infant interactions and play a critical role in shaping cognitive and linguistic development. This study explored how specific early attention mechanisms-namely, exogenous attention allocation and joint attention initiat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elena Capelli, Serena Grumi, Luisa Vercellino, Livio Provenzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1516587/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849701112670584832
author Elena Capelli
Serena Grumi
Luisa Vercellino
Livio Provenzi
Livio Provenzi
author_facet Elena Capelli
Serena Grumi
Luisa Vercellino
Livio Provenzi
Livio Provenzi
author_sort Elena Capelli
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionEarly attentional processes are inherently linked with early parent-infant interactions and play a critical role in shaping cognitive and linguistic development. This study explored how specific early attention mechanisms-namely, exogenous attention allocation and joint attention initiation-during mother-infant interactions at 12 months may influence language development at 24 months.MethodsA sample of 46 typically developing children was observed at 12 months during mother-infant interactions obtained through remote videotaping. Quantitative measures of exogenous attention allocation to external auditory stimuli and joint attention initiation by the infant were obtained through micro-analytical coding. Language outcomes were assessed at 24 months, with a focus on vocabulary composition (i.e., percentage of predicates).ResultsFindings showed significant negative associations between early life exogenous attention allocation and later vocabulary composition (i.e., predicate percentage). This association was modulated by joint attention initiation: infants displaying lower levels of joint attention initiation showed a negative association between exogenous attention allocation and language development.DiscussionThe findings are suggestive of a complex relationship among different forms of early attention skills and language development in the first 2 years of life.
format Article
id doaj-art-b7b0b9a42c4f467bb9f4faab00334a21
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-1078
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj-art-b7b0b9a42c4f467bb9f4faab00334a212025-08-20T03:18:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-04-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15165871516587Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary compositionElena Capelli0Serena Grumi1Luisa Vercellino2Livio Provenzi3Livio Provenzi4Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, ItalyDevelopmental Psychobiology Lab, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, ItalyDevelopmental Psychobiology Lab, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, ItalyIntroductionEarly attentional processes are inherently linked with early parent-infant interactions and play a critical role in shaping cognitive and linguistic development. This study explored how specific early attention mechanisms-namely, exogenous attention allocation and joint attention initiation-during mother-infant interactions at 12 months may influence language development at 24 months.MethodsA sample of 46 typically developing children was observed at 12 months during mother-infant interactions obtained through remote videotaping. Quantitative measures of exogenous attention allocation to external auditory stimuli and joint attention initiation by the infant were obtained through micro-analytical coding. Language outcomes were assessed at 24 months, with a focus on vocabulary composition (i.e., percentage of predicates).ResultsFindings showed significant negative associations between early life exogenous attention allocation and later vocabulary composition (i.e., predicate percentage). This association was modulated by joint attention initiation: infants displaying lower levels of joint attention initiation showed a negative association between exogenous attention allocation and language development.DiscussionThe findings are suggestive of a complex relationship among different forms of early attention skills and language development in the first 2 years of life.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1516587/fulldistractibilityinfancyjoint attentionlanguagevocabulary composition distractibilityvocabulary composition
spellingShingle Elena Capelli
Serena Grumi
Luisa Vercellino
Livio Provenzi
Livio Provenzi
Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
Frontiers in Psychology
distractibility
infancy
joint attention
language
vocabulary composition distractibility
vocabulary composition
title Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
title_full Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
title_fullStr Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
title_full_unstemmed Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
title_short Joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother-infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24-month vocabulary composition
title_sort joint attention and exogenous attention allocation during mother infant interaction at 12 months associate with 24 month vocabulary composition
topic distractibility
infancy
joint attention
language
vocabulary composition distractibility
vocabulary composition
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1516587/full
work_keys_str_mv AT elenacapelli jointattentionandexogenousattentionallocationduringmotherinfantinteractionat12monthsassociatewith24monthvocabularycomposition
AT serenagrumi jointattentionandexogenousattentionallocationduringmotherinfantinteractionat12monthsassociatewith24monthvocabularycomposition
AT luisavercellino jointattentionandexogenousattentionallocationduringmotherinfantinteractionat12monthsassociatewith24monthvocabularycomposition
AT livioprovenzi jointattentionandexogenousattentionallocationduringmotherinfantinteractionat12monthsassociatewith24monthvocabularycomposition
AT livioprovenzi jointattentionandexogenousattentionallocationduringmotherinfantinteractionat12monthsassociatewith24monthvocabularycomposition