Tactile Cues and Object Use in Multimodal Communicative Behaviors: Parent-Infant Interactions From 9 to 12 months of Age

Abstract

This study explores how physical contact is used in parent-infant dyads from 9 to 12 months of age, focusing on the role of touch and the use of objects in supporting language development. Thirty-five monolingual Spanish-speaking dyads were observed longitudinally in a free play situation. We analyzed physical contact, considering who initiated the contact, its function, the use of objects and the coordination with speech. Results showed that adults initiated physical contact more frequently than infants, particularly at 9 months, while infant-initiated touch tended to be longer in duration and predominantly affective in nature. In contrast, adult-initiated touch was often functional and, when involving objects, frequently accompanied by verbal input. Notably, these object-mediated tactile cues were used to convey social meanings and were synchronized with speech, suggesting a scaffolding function for lexical development. As infants’ comprehension increased, the frequency of these cues decreased, indicating a developmental shift toward more distal communication strategies. These findings highlight the importance of tactile interaction in multimodal communication and in the establishment of joint attention frames, especially during the period of transition to first words, underscoring the need for a broader understanding of language as a multimodal phenomenon.