乳児期の絵本場面における母子の実物への指さしをめぐる研究

抄録

 The purpose of this study is to examine joint infant-mother real-object-centered activities in terms of pointing to direct joint attention during picture-book reading. Twenty infants of 18, 30, and 36 months and their mothers participated in a longitudinal study. In picture-book reading settings, it has been observed that infants point not only to the pictures on the page but also to real objects in the real world. The present study focuses on this phenomenon which is analyzed in detail through observations and interviews. The main findings are as follows. First, in terms of the objects that infants and mothers point at, pointing at real objects was observed in the infants at 18 and 30 months. Second, this paper theoretically argues that pointing to real objects depends upon the level of similarity between the picture and the real object. Third, real objects are categorized into either close objects or far objects within the reading context. In particular, when infants of 18 months point to a faraway object, they walk to the object, and infants and mothers enjoy joint real-object-centered activities. The study suggests that the activity space at that period is wider than that for 30-month-old infants. Fourth, t is also shown that the infant pointing to real objects shifts from pointing without vocalization to pointing accompanied by vocalization. Finally, an important characteristic of picture-book reading with children under 3 years old is clarified.