Preverbal Infant Recruitments of Adult Help: Locally Co-operative Accomplishments

Previous research has extensively explored various forms of recruitment (e.g. Kendrick & Drew 2016), yet few studies have focused on the non-linguistic recruiting practices of very young children. Early investigations (Filipi, 2015) confirm that young children's requests, conveyed through embodied resources, emerge at a very early age (about 18 months). Bateman's work on real-life mealtime interactions further illustrates how infants recruit help from teacher-practitioners through embodied "showing" of a problematic item, thereby initiating joint attention that prompts offers of assistance. These studies underscore the importance of infants' embodied capabilities in mobilizing meaningful interactions with their caregivers.
Building on this existing understanding, this study specifically examines how preverbal babies, despite their limited linguistic and embodied capabilities, successfully recruit caregiver assistance for tasks (e.g., opening a candy jar) that would otherwise be difficult for them to achieve independently. We also investigate how caregivers interpret and respond to these recruitments, analyzing the diverse bodily resources infants mobilize and their physical interactions with the object at hand.
Using multimodal conversation analysis, our data set comprises video-recorded, naturally occurring everyday interactions between preverbal infants (mostly 0-2 year olds) and adults, gathered from China, Finland, U.K., and Sweden. Our preliminary findings highlight several key aspects of this dynamic:
1. Recruitment of Joint Attention: Infants first need to recruit caregivers' joint attention toward a desired object, often via resources such as whining, continuous gaze, pointing, or other body movements toward the object. This may be interspersed with infants' gaze at the adult to secure mutual gaze ( Kidwell & Zimmerman, 2007).
2. Highlighting Difficulty through Exaggerated Gestures: Infants not only show their orientation to the object but also highlight the difficulty or trouble involved in enacting the desired action related to the object. This is frequently achieved through exaggerated, iconic gestures and high-pitched whining.
3. Caregiver's Interpretive Role: The caregiver's shared knowledge regarding the infant's embodied capabilities and the immediate environment is crucial for their ability to recognize and interpret the infant's trouble.
4. Graduated Assistance and Autonomy: Caregivers often offer partial rather than complete assistance, allowing the child space to participate in the activity. This approach scaffolds the infant's autonomy and independence in managing everyday practical tasks.

Extract 1:
B: 11-month-old boy F: Father M: Mother
01 F: †øwo lai jiu xing
“Just let me handle it”.
02 B †---- gazes at the book-->>
03 B Ø---- sits on the mattress upright------->
04 B: #1ø©Hh↑HM:. MHM↑MM:: |(.) ∆↑eh#2®eh
05 -->ø
06 ©... throws his upper body forward, both hands on the edge
of the book---->
07 ®...attempts to turn
the corner of the cover,,,
08 M |...approaches
09 F ∆ waves M to stand by

#1 #2
10 B: ®EHHM ↑EHH ®↑[EHH
11 ®2nd attempt ® 3rd attempt
12 F: [>uh=uh=Ω#3uh=©Ø#4hao=hao<Ω
“uh=uh=uh=OK=OK”.
13 Ω...hands to --- Ω ...turns the cover
the cover
14 B -------©Ø...upper body back to upright








#3 #4

15 M: baba bu gei ni jiang shi bu shi?
“Daddy wouldn’t read it for you, right?”
16 F: bu shi,ta xiang fan-®fanshu, dan ta ziji fan bu guo lai. ®
“No, he wants to turn the page but he can’t turn it on his
own.”
17 ®...B turns a page inside the book,,,®
18 M: Mm. [ta bi xu yao xian kai lai.
“Yeah, its cover has to be turned first”
19 B: ® [mm::
20 ® begins turning another page

Analysis of Excerpt 1:
B's initial recruitment strategy involves deploying continuous eye gaze (Line 2), a quick upper body throw towards the book (Line 5), and whining (Line 4) to capture F's attention. This whining also signals B's perceived difficulty (Butler & Edwards, 2018), as evidenced by his mother M's approach (Line 8).
Subsequently, B performs a symbolic "turning the cover" action. This performance functions as an iconic gesture to F, particularly given F's prior knowledge of B's inadequate motor skills for opening the hardcover (Line 16). The exaggerated manner in which B attempts to turn the cover—merely touching the corner and continuing the turning motion even without the cover in hand—accompanied by high-pitched whining, is repeated three times (Lines 10-11). This repeated, iconic gesture clearly indicates B's trouble, thereby effectively recruiting F's offer of assistance (Kendrick & Drew, 2016).
Following B's second repeated attempt, F immediately responds with a latched receipt token and agreement ("uh=uh=uh=ok=ok," Line 12). While responding vocally, F simultaneously moves his hands to the hardcover to open it (Line 13). This response demonstrates F's recognition of B's difficulty and his interpretation of it as a recruitment for help.
After F successfully turns the hardcover, B's upper body withdraws and resumes its home position. B's whining also transforms into a breath-releasing "mm::" (Line 19), and he promptly begins turning pages inside the book himself (Line 20). These actions collectively confirm that F's interpretation of B's recruitment was correct and his assitance relevant.
Notably, F initially withholds immediate assistance, both when M approaches and after B's first attempt to turn the cover. This allows B some space and autonomy to attempt the task himself. F initiates assistance only after B's second attempt fails, and his intervention is limited to just opening the hardcover, leaving B to complete the remaining page-turning independently.
References:
Bateman, A. (2024). Infant embodied requests and teacher-practitioner offers during early childhood education mealtimes. Appetite, 200, 107539.
Butler, C. W., & Edwards, D. (2018). Children's whining in family interaction. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 51(1), 52–66.
Filipi, A. (2015). The development of recipient design in bilingual child-parent interaction. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 48(1), 100–119.
Kendrick, K. H., & Drew, P. (2016). Recruitment: Offers, requests, and the organization of assistance in interaction. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 49(1), 1-22.
Kidwell, M., & Zimmerman, D. H. (2007). Joint attention as action. Journal of Pragmatics, 39(3), 592–611.