increase cues that are socially relevant. Use of social cues during early childhood From a young age people are taught to use the social cues of others to gain insight about the world around them. There is also evidence that reliance on social cues is a naturally occurring tendency. Research has found that from birth, babies prefer infant directed speech over adult directed speech. At as young as 6 months old, babies prefer someone that has previously talked to them and who speaks their native language, over someone who speaks a foreign language. According to Guellai and Steri, at 9-weeks-old, babies fixate more on an adult's eye region when they are talking to them, than when they are silent and looking at them. Guellai and Steri concluded that at birth, babies are able to read two forms of social cues: eye gaze and voice. Children use social cues such as eye gaze and engaging facial expressions to understand adults' intentions while using different signs and symbols. Leekam, Soloman and Teoh hypothesized that children would pay more attention to a task if the adult had an engaging facial expression. They tested their hypothesis on 2 and 3 year olds using three signs: a pointer finger, a replica and an arrow. After their first experiment their hypothesis was supported. They found that young children understood the reasons behind the symbol or sign with the presence of an engaging face. However, when no face was visible, performance significantly declined. Leekam et al. state that it is understandable that children understood the significance of the pointing sign due to their familiarity with it; children can comprehend the reference of pointing as early as 12 months. The researchers came to the conclusion that it is easier for children to identify an action carried out by a bare hand, as early as 7 months, than to understand the intent behind an action of a gloved hand. An important social cue that helps children when it comes to the function of a sign or symbol is that of an engaging face. During the difficult and unfamiliar tasks of the study, children looked for social cues more. According to studies conducted on social referencing, infants use the emotional cues of others to guide their behavior. Vocal cues are seen as more effective because infants are used to vocal-only cues from their parents. This was shown in a visual