ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses primarily on the reasons why scientists find communicating infants so compelling. It examines the history of how developmental psychologists have regarded communicating infants. Earlier scholars knew about infants’ cries, smiles and coos, and babbles and gestures. Moreover, these familiar phenomena were introduced into the scientific record at psychology’s beginnings. There are several related reasons why developmental psychologists have tended to ignore infants’ communicative acts. Understandably, images of unorganized and unaware young infants did little to entice scientists to take a closer look. Nevertheless, during the early 1960s, unprecedented curiosity arose about the beginnings of human development. Sophisticated research methods did much to stimulate the gathering of new facts about infants. But new facts, even about infants behaving in ways that were previously thought impossible, soon lose their luster unless they find a theoretical sphere. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
