People spontaneously produce gestures during speaking and thinking. The authors focus here on gestures that depict or indicate information related to the contents of concurrent speech or thought ...(i.e., representational gestures). Previous research indicates that such gestures have not only communicative functions, but also self-oriented cognitive functions. In this article, the authors propose a new theoretical framework, the gesture-for-conceptualization hypothesis, which explains the self-oriented functions of representational gestures. According to this framework, representational gestures affect cognitive processes in 4 main ways: gestures activate, manipulate, package, and explore spatio-motoric information for speaking and thinking. These four functions are shaped by gesture's ability to schematize information, that is, to focus on a small subset of available information that is potentially relevant to the task at hand. The framework is based on the assumption that gestures are generated from the same system that generates practical actions, such as object manipulation; however, gestures are distinct from practical actions in that they represent information. The framework provides a novel, parsimonious, and comprehensive account of the self-oriented functions of gestures. The authors discuss how the framework accounts for gestures that depict abstract or metaphoric content, and they consider implications for the relations between self-oriented and communicative functions of gestures.
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The Gesture as Simulated Action (GSA) framework was proposed to explain how gestures arise from embodied simulations of the motor and perceptual states that occur during speaking and thinking ...(Hostetter & Alibali,
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15,
495–514,
2008
). In this review, we revisit the framework’s six main predictions regarding gesture rates, gesture form, and the cognitive cost of inhibiting gesture. We find that the available evidence largely supports the main predictions of the framework. We also consider several challenges to the framework that have been raised, as well as several of the framework’s limitations as it was originally proposed. We offer additional elaborations of the framework to address those challenges that fall within the framework’s scope, and we conclude by identifying key directions for future work on how gestures arise from an embodied mind.
Spontaneous gestures that accompany speech are related to both verbal and spatial processes. We argue that gestures emerge from perceptual and motor simulations that underlie embodied language and ...mental imagery. We first review current thinking about embodied cognition, embodied language, and embodied mental imagery. We then provide evidence that gestures stem from spatial representations and mental images. We then propose the gestures-as-simulated-action framework to explain how gestures might arise from an embodied cognitive system. Finally, we compare this framework with other current models of gesture production, and we briefly outline predictions that derive from the framework.
Gestures are often taken as evidence that the body is involved in thinking and speaking about the ideas expressed in those gestures. In this article, we present evidence drawn from teachers' and ...learners' gestures to make the case that mathematical knowledge is embodied. We argue that mathematical cognition is embodied in 2 key senses: It is based in perception and action, and it is grounded in the physical environment. We present evidence for each of these claims drawn from the gestures that teachers and learners produce when they explain mathematical concepts and ideas. We argue that (a) pointing gestures reflect the grounding of cognition in the physical environment, (b) representational gestures manifest mental simulations of action and perception, and (c) some metaphoric gestures reflect body-based conceptual metaphors. Thus, gestures reveal that some aspects of mathematical thinking are embodied.
•Conceptual knowledge has been a focus of recent research on mathematical thinking.•We review how conceptual knowledge is defined and measured in the literature.•We focus on conceptual knowledge of ...equivalence, cardinality, and inversion.•We identify inconsistencies in defining and measuring conceptual knowledge.•We propose a new framework for conceptualizing conceptual knowledge.
A long tradition of research on mathematical thinking has focused on procedural knowledge, or knowledge of how to solve problems and enact procedures. In recent years, however, there has been a shift toward focusing, not only on solving problems, but also on conceptual knowledge. In the current work, we reviewed (1) how conceptual knowledge is defined in the mathematical thinking literature, and (2) how conceptual knowledge is defined, operationalized, and measured in three mathematical domains: equivalence, cardinality, and inversion. We uncovered three general issues. First, few investigators provide explicit definitions of conceptual knowledge. Second, the definitions that are provided are often vague or poorly operationalized. Finally, the tasks used to measure conceptual knowledge do not always align with theoretical claims about mathematical understanding. Together, these three issues make it challenging to understand the development of conceptual knowledge, its relationship to procedural knowledge, and how it can best be taught to students. In light of these issues, we propose a general framework that divides conceptual knowledge into two facets: knowledge of general principles and knowledge of the principles underlying procedures.
This study investigated the spontaneous co-speech gestures produced by speakers who were talking about the concepts of addition and subtraction in a television news setting. We performed a linguistic ...and co-speech gesture analysis of expressions related to the concepts of addition (N plus N, addition, add) and subtraction (N minus N, subtraction, subtract). First, we compared the linguistic frequency of these structures across several corpora. Second, we performed a multimodal gesture analysis, drawing data from a television news repository. We analyzed 423 co-speech gestures (169 for subtraction and 254 for addition) in terms of their axis (e.g., lateral, sagittal) and their direction (e.g., leftwards, away from their body). Third, we examined the semantic properties of the direct object that was added or subtracted. There were two main findings. First, low-frequency linguistic expressions were more likely to be accompanied by co-speech gestures. Second, most gestures about addition and subtraction were produced along the lateral or sagittal axes. When people spoke about addition, they tended to produce lateral, rightwards movements or movements away from the body. When people spoke about subtraction, they tended to produce lateral, leftwards movements or movements towards the body. This co-speech gesture data provides evidence that people activate two different metaphors for arithmetic in spontaneous behavior: arithmetic is motion along a path and arithmetic is collecting objects.
•We examined the gestures people make when speaking about addition and subtraction.•Gesture frequency varies inversely with linguistic frequency of numerical expressions.•Gestures about addition typically move to the right or away from the body.•Gestures about subtraction typically move to the left or towards the body.•Gestures represent arithmetic as moving along a path or collecting objects.
•Metamorphosis is a challenging concept for children to learn.•First and second graders learned better with rich diagrams.•Fourth and fifth graders generalized more broadly with bland diagrams.•The ...influence of perceptual richness on learning might change over development.
Visualizations are commonly used in educational materials; however, not all visualizations are equally effective at promoting learning. Prior research has supported the idea that both perceptually rich and bland visualizations are beneficial for learning and generalization. We investigated whether the perceptual richness of a life cycle diagram influenced children’s learning of metamorphosis, a concept that prior work suggests is difficult for people to generalize. Using identical materials, Study 1 (N = 76) examined learning and generalization of metamorphosis in first- and second-grade students, and Study 2 (N = 53) did so in fourth- and fifth-grade students. Bayesian regression analyses revealed that first and second graders learned more from the lesson with the perceptually rich diagram. In addition, fourth and fifth graders generalized more with the bland diagram, but these generalizations tended to be incorrect (i.e., generalizing metamorphosis to animals that do not undergo this type of change). These findings differ from prior research with adults, in which bland diagrams led to more correct generalizations, suggesting that the effect of perceptual richness on learning and generalization might change over development.
Summary
People often have difficulty in understanding processes of biological change, and they typically reject drastic life cycle changes such as metamorphosis, except for animals with which they ...are familiar. Even after a lesson about metamorphosis, people often do not generalize to animals not seen during the lesson. This might be partially due to the perceptual richness of the diagrams typically used during lessons on metamorphosis, which serves to emphasize the individual animal rather than a class of animals. In two studies, we examined whether the perceptual richness of a diagram influences adults' learning and transfer of knowledge about metamorphosis. One study was conducted in a laboratory setting, and the other was online. In both studies, adults who saw the bland diagram during the lesson accurately transferred more than adults who saw the rich diagram during the lesson.
Why do people shift their strategies for solving problems? Past work has focused on the roles of contextual and individual factors in explaining whether people adopt new strategies when they are ...exposed to them. In this study, we examined a factor not considered in prior work: people's evaluations of the strategies themselves. We presented undergraduate participants from a moderately selective university (N = 252; 64.8% women, 65.6% White, 67.6% who had taken calculus) with two strategies for solving algebraic word problems and asked them to rate these strategies and their own strategy on a variety of dimensions. Participants’ ratings loaded onto two factors, which we label quality and difficulty. Participants’ initial evaluations of the quality of the strategies were associated with whether they used the strategies at posttest, and this effect held even when controlling for individual and contextual factors. However, people's evaluations of the difficulty of the strategies were not consistently associated with their later adoption of those strategies. We also examined individual and contextual predictors of strategy ratings and strategy adoption. Participants’ need for cognition and their spatial visualization ability were associated with their strategy evaluations, and the framing of the story problems was associated with their strategy adoption. The findings highlight that strategy adoption depends on multiple interacting factors, and that to understand strategy change, it is critical to examine how people evaluate strategies.
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