Charting the development of pointing

Abstract Relational developmental systems (RDS) approaches to communicative development trace the origins of (social) pointing back to early instances of non-social index finger use. So far, no empirical longitudinal examination of this proposal exists. This paper reports on a longitudinal analysis of non-social index finger use and pointing from 6 to 16 months ( n = 114) based on a parent questionnaire. We investigated early motor abilities, cognitive abilities, caregiver sensitivity and non-intrusiveness as potential predictors of pointing. Non-social index finger use and pointing increased from 6 to 16 months. Non-social index finger use was longitudinally related to pointing. Pointing was more likely to be reported with increasing age, and when non-social index finger use was present. Early cognitive, but not motor abilities moderated this relationship. Sensitivity and non-intrusiveness were not related to pointing. This longitudinal study provides empirical support for the theoretical proposal that pointing emerges from non-social index finger use.