User:LianneAnna/sandbox

Definitions of joint attention
The definition of joint attention is important in order to determine if children are engaging in age-appropriate joint attention and to determine if apes are capable of engaging in joint attention.

Triadic joint attention is the highest level of joint attention and involves two individuals looking at an object. Each individual must understand that the other individual is looking at the same object and realize that there is an element of shared attention. For an instance of social engagement to count as joint attention it requires more than  two individuals attending to an object, or two individuals focusing their attention on each other. Instead, the individual must display awareness that focus is shared between themself and another individual. Triadic attention is marked by the individual looking back to the individual after looking at the object.

Dyadic joint attention is a conversation-like behavior that individuals engage in. This is especially true for human adults and infants who engage in this behavior starting at two months of age. Adults and infants take turns exchanging facial expressions, noises and in the case of the adult, speech. If two individuals are simply looking at an object, it is referred to as shared gaze. Shared gaze is the lowest level of joint attention.

There is a debate in contemporary psychology as to the psychological significance of joint attention. The majority of theorists believe that although both humans and the great apes use joint attention as a means to an end, humans alone use it for altruistic communicative purposes. Joint attention also plays an important role in the development of theory of mind. Theory of mind and joint attention are important precursors to a fully developed grasp of psychological notions.

A vocal minority maintain that joint attention is always a means to an end (i.e., that "pure communication" in the infancy period of humans is a myth), and therefore joint attention by apes and humans reflects shared psychological processes.