Chapter published in:
Why Gesture?: How the hands function in speaking, thinking and communicating
Edited by R. Breckinridge Church, Martha W. Alibali and Spencer D. Kelly
[Gesture Studies 7] 2017
► pp. 155–174

Chapter 7
Gestures highlight perceptual-motor representations in thinking

Gestures are adept at expressing perceptual and motor information. In this chapter, we propose that, as representational actions, gestures both stem from and influence perceptual representations, in much the same way that action and perception more generally exist in an inextricable relationship. We review evidence that gestures emerge from perceptual-motor representations that are activated during thinking and speaking (Hostetter & Alibali, 2008). We then consider how gesture’s connection to perceptual-motor representations may play a functional role in strengthening those representations in the minds of speakers.

Article outline
  • Gestures highlight perceptual-motor representations in thinking
  • Gestures arise from perceptual-motor representations
  • Gestures strengthen perceptual-motor representations
  • Why gesture?
  • References
Published online: 26 April 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/gs.7.08hos
References
Alibali, Martha W.
2005 “Gesture in spatial cognition: Expressing, communicating, and thinking about spatial information.” Spatial Cognition and Computation 5: 307–331. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Alibali, Martha W., Heath, Dana C., & Myers, Heather J.
2001 “Effects of visibility between speaker and listener on gesture production.” Journal of Memory and Language 44: 169–188. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Alibali, Martha W., & Hostetter, Autumn B.
2010 “Mimicry and simulation in gesture comprehension. (Commentary on Niedenthal, Maringer, & Hess, The Simulation of Smiles Model).” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33: 433–434. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Alibali, Martha W., & Kita, Sotaro
2010 “Gesture highlights perceptually present information for speakers.” Gesture 10: 3–28. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Alibali, Martha W., Spencer, Robert C., Knox, Lucy, & Kita, Sotaro
2011 “Spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.” Psychological Science 22: 1138–1144. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bach, Patric, Griffiths, Debra, Weigelt, Matthias, & Tipper, Steven P.
2010 “Gesturing meaning: Non-action words activate the motor system.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 4: 1–12. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Beilock, Sian L., & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
2010 “Gesture changes thought by grounding it in action.” Psychological Science 21: 1605–1610. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Boncoddo, Rebecca, Dixon, James A., & Kelley, E.
2010 “The emergence of a novel representation from action: Evidence from preschoolers.” Developmental Science 13: 370–377. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Broaders, Sara C., Cook, Susan W., Mitchell, Zachary, & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
2007 “Making children gesture brings out implicit knowledge and leads to learning.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 136: 539–550. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brockmole, James R., Davoli, Christopher C., Abrams, Richard A., & Witt, Jessica K.
2013 “The world within reach: Effects of hand posture and tool use on visual cognition.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 22: 38–44. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bub, Daniel N., Masson, Michael E. J., & Cree, George S.
2008 “Evocation of functional and volumetric gestural knowledge by objects and words.” Cognition 106: 27–58. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chu, Mingyuan, & Kita, Sotaro
2011 “The nature of gestures’ beneficial role in spatial problem solving.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 140: 102–116. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2014 Co-thought and co-speech gestures are generated by the same action generation process. Paper presented at the International Society for Gesture Studies, San Diego, CA.
Church, Ruth Breckinridge, Garber, Philip, & Rogalski, Kathryn
2007 “The role of gesture in memory and social communication.” Gesture 7: 137–158. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Church, Ruth Breckinridge, Kelly, Spencer D., & Holcombe, David
2013 “Temporal synchrony between speech, action and gesture during language production.” Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 29: 345–354. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Ronald L.
1989 “Memory for action events: The power of enactment.” Educational Psychology Review 1: 57–80. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Connell, Louise, Lynott, Dermot, & Dreyer, Felix
2012 “A functional role for modality-specific perceptual systems in conceptual representations.” PLoS ONE 7(3), e33321. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cook, Susan W., Mitchell, Zachary, & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
2008 “Gesturing makes learning last.” Cognition 106: 1047–1058. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cook, Susan W., & Tanenhaus, Michael K.
2009 “Embodied communication: Speakers' gestures affect listeners’ actions.” Cognition 113: 98–104. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cook, Susan W., Yip, Terina K., & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
2010 “Gesturing makes memories that last.” Journal of Memory and Language 63: 465–475. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2012 “Gestures, but not meaningless movements, lighten working memory load when explaining math.” Language and Cognitive Processes 27: 594–610. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Craighero, Laila, Fadiga, Luciano, Rizzolatti, Giacomo, & Umiltà, Carlo
1999 “Action for perception: A motor-visual attentional effect.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 25: 1673–1692.Google Scholar
Dewey, John
1896 “The reflex arc concept in psychology.” Psychological Review 3: 357–370. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Glenberg, Arthur M., & Kaschak, Michael P.
2002 “Grounding language in action.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9: 558–565. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Glenberg, Arthur M., Witt, Jessica K., & Metcalfe, Janet
2013 “From the revolution to embodiment: 25 years of cognitive psychology.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 8: 573–585. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Goldin-Meadow, Susan, & Alibali, Martha W.
2013 “Gesture’s role in speaking, learning, and creating language.” Annual Review of Psychology 64: 257–283. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Goldin-Meadow, Susan, & Beilock, Sian L.
2010 “Action’s influence on thought: The case of gesture.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 5: 664–674. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Goldin-Meadow, Susan, Nusbaum, Howard, Kelly, Spencer D., & Wagner, Susan
2001 “Explaining math: Gesturing lightens the load.” Psychological Science 12: 516–522. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hostetter, Autumn B.
2011 “When do gestures communicate? A meta-analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 137: 297–315. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2014 “Action attenuates the effect of visibility on gesture rates.” Cognitive Science: 1–14. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hostetter, Autumn B., & Alibali, Martha W.
2008 “Visible embodiment: Gestures as simulated action.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 15: 495–514. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2010 “Language, gesture, action! A test of the Gesture as Simulated Action framework.” Journal of Memory and Language 63: 245–257. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hostetter, Autumn B., & Hopkins, William D.
2002 “The effect of thought structure on the production of lexical movements.” Brain & Language 82: 22–29. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hostetter, Autumn B., & Skirving, Catherine J.
2011 “The effect of visual vs. verbal stimuli on gesture production.” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 35: 205–223. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hostetter, Autumn B., & Sullivan, Erin L.
2011 “Gesture production during spatial tasks: Its not all about difficulty.” In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, L. Carlson, C. Hoelscher, & T. Shipley (eds), 1965–1970. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.Google Scholar
Iverson, Jana M., & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
1998 “Why people gesture when they speak.” Nature 396: 228. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
James, William
1890 The Principles of Psychology. New York: Dover. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Spencer D., Byrne, Kelly, & Holler, Judith
2011 “Raising the ante of communication: Evidence for enhanced gesture use in high stakes situations.” Information 2: 579–593. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Spencer, Healey, Meghan, Özyürek, Asli, & Holler, Judith
2015 “The processing of speech, gesture, and action during language comprehension.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 22: 517–523. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Spencer, Hirata, Yukari, Manansala, Michael, & Huang, Jessica
2014 “Exploring the role of hand gestures in learning novel phoneme contrasts and vocabulary in a second language.” Frontiers in Psychology 5: 673. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kirk, Elizabeth, & Lewis, Carine
2016 Gesture facilitates children's creative thinking. Psychological Science. Advanced online publication. Crossref
Kita, Sotaro
2000 “How representational gestures help speaking.” In Language and Gesture, D. McNeill (ed), 162–185. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Krauss, Robert. M.
1998 “Why do we gesture when we speak?” Current Directions in Psychological Science 7: 54–60. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lindemann, Oliver, & Bekkering, Harold
2009 “Object manipulation and motion perception: Evidence of an influence of action planning on visual processing.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 35 (4): 1062–1071.Google Scholar
McNeill, David
2005 Gesture & Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mead, George H.
1974 Mind, Self, and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Morsella, Ezequiel, & Krauss, Robert M.
2004 “The role of gestures in spatial working memory and speech.” The American Journal of Psychology 117: 411–424. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Nathan, Mitchell J., Walkington, Candace, Boncoddo, Rebecca, Pier, Elizabeth, Williams, Caroline, & Alibali, Martha W.
2014 “Actions speak louder with words: The roles of action and pedagogical language for grounding mathematical proof.” Learning and Instruction 33: 182–193. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Novack, Miriam, Congdon, Eliza, Hemani-Lopez, Naureen, & Goldin-Meadow, Susan
2014 “From action to abstraction: Using the hands to learn math.” Psychological Science 25: 903–910. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
O’Regan, J. Kevin, & Noë, Alva
2001 “A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24: 939–1031. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Oppezzo, Marily, & Schwartz, Daniel L.
2014 “Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 40: 1142–1152.Google Scholar
Pezzulo, Giovanni, Candidi, Matteo, Dindo, Haris, & Barca, Laura
2013 “Action simulation in the human brain: Twelve questions.” New Ideas in Psychology 31: 270–290. http://dx.doi.org/CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pine, Karen J., Lufkin, Nicola, & Messer, David
2004 “More gestures than answers: Children learning about balance.” Developmental Psychobiology 40: 1059–1067. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pine, Karen J., Reeves, Lindsey, Howlett, Neil, & Fletcher, Ben
2013 “Giving cognition a helping hand: The effect of congruent gestures on object name retrieval.” The British Journal of Psychology 104: 57–68. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ping, Raedy M., Goldin-Meadow, Susan, & Beilock, Sian L.
2014 “Understanding gesture: Is the listener’s motor system involved?” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 143: 195–204. http://dx.doi.org/CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pouw, Wim T. J. L., De Nooijer, Jacqueline A., van Gog, Tamara, Zwaan, Rolf A., & Paas, Fred
2014 “Towards a more embedded/extended perspective on the cognitive function of gestures.” Frontiers in Psychology 5. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pouw, Wim T. J. L., & Hostetter, Autumn B.
2016 “Gestures as predictive action.” Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences 5: 57–80.Google Scholar
Prinz, Wolfgang
1997 “Perception and action planning.” European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 9: 129–154. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Proffitt, Dennis R.
2006 “Embodied perception and the economy of action.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 1: 110–122. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Rimé, Bernard
1982 “The elimination of visible behavior from social interactions: Effects on verbal, nonverbal and interpersonal variables.” European Journal of Social Psychology 12: 113–129. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Rommers, Joost, Meyer, Antje S., & Huettig, Falk
2013 “Object shape and orientation do not routinely influence performance during language processing.” Psychological Science. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sassenberg, Uta, & van der Meer, Elke
2010 “Do we really gesture more when it is more difficult?” Cognitive Science 34: 643–664. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shin, Yun K., Proctor, Robert W., & Capaldi, E. J.
2010 “A review of contemporary ideomotor theory.” Psychological Bulletin 136: 943–974. http://dx.doi.org/CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Simon, J. R.
1969 “Reactions towards the source of stimulation.” Journal of Experimental Psychology 81: 174–176. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Smithson, Lisa, & Nicoladis, Elena
2014 “Lending a hand to imagery? The impact of visuospatial working memory interference upon iconic gesture production in a narrative task.” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 38(2): 247–258. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, Therese, Loetscher, Tobias, Yates, Mark J., & Nicholls, Michael E. R.
2013 “The highs and lows of the interaction between word meaning and space.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 39(4): 964–973. http://dx.doi.org/CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Vishton, Peter M., Stephens, Nicolette J., Nelson, Lauren A., Morra, Sarah E., Brunick, Kaitlin L., & Stevents, Jennifer A.
2007 “Planning to reach for an object changes how the reacher perceives it.” Psychological Science 18: 713–719. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wesp, Richard, Hesse, Jennifer, Keutmann, Donna, & Wheaton, Karen
2001 “Gestures maintain spatial imagery.” The American Journal of Psychology 114: 591–600. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Witt, Jessica K.
2011 “Action's effect on perception.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 20: 201–206. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Witt, Jessica K., & Brockmole, James R.
2012 “Action alters object identification: Wielding a gun increases the bias to see guns.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 38: 1159–1167.Google Scholar
Witt, Jessica K., & Proffitt, Dennis R.
2005 “See the ball, hit the ball: Apparent ball size is correlated with batting average.” Psychological Science 16: 937–938. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Zwaan, Rolf A., Stanfield, Robert A., & Yaxley, Richard H.
2002 “Language comprehenders mentally represent the shapes of objects.” Psychological Science 13: 168–171. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 4 other publications

Hostetter, Autumn B. & Martha W. Alibali
2019. Gesture as simulated action: Revisiting the framework. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 26:3 ► pp. 721 ff. Crossref logo
Pouw, Wim & James A. Dixon
2019. Entrainment and Modulation of Gesture–Speech Synchrony Under Delayed Auditory Feedback. Cognitive Science 43:3 Crossref logo
Pouw, Wim, Stephanie I. Wassenburg, Autumn B. Hostetter, Bjorn B. de Koning & Fred Paas
2020. Does gesture strengthen sensorimotor knowledge of objects? The case of the size-weight illusion. Psychological Research 84:4 ► pp. 966 ff. Crossref logo
Wassenburg, Stephanie I., Björn B. de Koning & Menno van der Schoot
2018. In which direction to move? Facilitative and interference effects of gestures on problem solver's thinking. Journal of Cognitive Psychology 30:3 ► pp. 307 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 01 december 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.