Temperament, Prosociality, and Cultural Differences in Declarative Pointing
A Multi-Method Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17560268 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fabiola Silletti (0000-0002-9714-4849, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy, corresponding author), Eliala A Salvadori (0000-0001-9814-8625, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Pasquale Musso (0000-0002-4725-6551, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy), Rosalinda Cassibba (0000-0003-0930-3035, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy), Gabrielle Coppola (0000-0003-0147-6142, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy), Cristina Colonnesi (0000-0002-5740-7827, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Behavioral Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0165-0254 • E-ISSN: 1464-0651 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01650254261432823 |
| OpenAlex | W7154626456 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
This study examined the associations between declarative pointing gestures, temperament traits (surgency, regulation ability, and negative affectivity), and prosociality in Italian and Dutch infants aged 12–15 months. A multi-method approach was employed, combining maternal reports and experimental observations across three emotion-eliciting contexts (pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant stimuli). Three key findings emerged: (a) Dutch infants produced more pointing than Italian infants, both according to maternal reports and in response to unpleasant stimuli directed toward the experimenter; (b) temperamental surgency was not linked to pointing, while regulation and negative affectivity showed differential associations with pointing across emotional context, social partners, and cultures; and (c) prosociality predicted more pointing toward unpleasant stimuli in Dutch infants. Moreover, children’s age and sex influenced declarative pointing, while maternal education did not. These findings highlight that early socio-communicative development, such as declarative pointing, is shaped by individual and contextual factors, including temperament, prosociality, partner familiarity, emotional contexts, and culture. The results underscore the value of a multi-systemic and multi-method approach to understanding early development, while also offering several theoretical, research, and practical implications. Particularly, these include moving beyond West–East dichotomies, providing targeted stimulation for infants high in negative affectivity, supporting well-regulated children in novel or high-intensity situations, promoting parenting that fosters individual responsibility and emotional expression, and ensuring culturally sensitive clinical assessment and interventions
Child development · Cultural diversity · Emotionality · Negative affectivity · Perception · Positive affectivity · Prosocial behavior · Temperament · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Child and Animal Learning Development · Infant Development and Preterm Care
A construct divided
Development and Assessment of Short and Very Short Forms of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised
A New Look at Infant Pointing
Cross-cultural variation of speech-accompanying gesture
Twelve-month-olds communicate helpfully and appropriately for knowledgeable and ignorant partners
A Prelinguistic Gestural Universal of Human Communication
Emotional contexts influence toddlers’ prosocial strategies
A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Early Prelinguistic Gesture Development and Its Relationship to Language Development
Coordinated attention, declarative and imperative pointing in infants with and without Down syndrome
Learning to talk in a gesture-rich world
The relation between pointing and language development
A longitudinal study of the differential social‐cognitive foundations of early prosocial behaviors
Exploring Infant Gesture and Joint Attention as Related Constructs and as Predictors of Later Language
Evidence of Cross‐Cultural Differences in Maternal Mind‐Mindedness
Relation of infants' and mothers' pointing to infants' vocabulary measured directly and with parental reports
The Role of Declarative Pointing in Developing a Theory of Mind
Child, Caregiver, and Temperament Contributions to Infant Joint Attention
Not too shy to point! Exploring the relationship between shyness and pointing in the second year
Helping and Cooperation at 14 Months of Age
The Development of Referential Communication and Autism Symptomatology in High‐Risk Infants
Do Self-Control and Parental Involvement Promote Prosociality and Hinder Internalizing Problems? A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study From Early to Mid-To-Late Adolescence
Predicting pointing from early socioemotional communication with mothers, fathers, and strangers through the lens of temperamental reactivity
Maternal mind-mindedness during the first year of life
The Influence of Socialization on Early Helping From a Cross-Cultural Perspective
Early Temperament in Japan, the United States, and Russia
Child Rearing in a Group Setting
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |