Temperamental patterns and infant joint attention in typical development.

Abstract

Joint attention refers to the ability to share attention between two individuals and a third object. These skills include referential gaze and gestures such as giving and showing, and pointing. We distinguish the RJA (Response to Joint Attention) when a behaviour is initiated by the parent and the child follows an indicated object with his eye gaze, and the IJA (Initiative to Joint Attention) when the child begins a sharing behaviour aimed at satisfaction of his needs. Some researchers have highlighted how temperament plays a role in the development of JA, in particular the style of temperament and emotional reactivity. In this study, we investigate infant’s temperamental elements at 18-24 month and how it could relate to IJA and RJA performance. Study participants were recruited among 32 nurseries, for a total of 248 children. In order to assess the temperamental factors and joint attention capabilities, nest operators were required to perform two questionnaires, respectively to evaluate the temperament and JA.