Directing two-year-old's attention; some clues to understanding

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Abstract
The behaviour of 32 mothers during an object-retrieval game was analysed in terms of the hints and ‘clues’ they used to direct their children's attention. Age-related differences were found in the type of information offered; the prompts 2; 0-year-olds received primarily concerned the target-objects' whereabouts, whereas 2; 6-year-olds' mothers referred to the target-objects (especially those unfamiliar by name) in terms of the children's background knowledge of the objects' functions or associations, as well. Possible explanations for these changes are discussed and the view is advanced that these differences should be interpreted as reflecting changes in the way mothers structure the task for their children as they become more independent problem-solvers.

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