EXPRESS: Hands of Confidence: When Gestures Increase Confidence in Spatial Problem Solving

This study aimed to examine whether the metacognitive system monitors the potential positive effects of gestures on spatial thinking. Participants (N = 59, 31F, Mage = 21.67) performed a mental rotation task, consisting of twenty-four problems varying in difficulty, and evaluated their confidence in their answers to problems in either gesture or control conditions. The results revealed that performance and confidence were higher in the gesture condition, in which the participants were asked to use their gestures during problem-solving, compared to the control condition, extending the literature by evidencing gestures` role in metacognition. Yet, the effect was only evident for women, who already performed worse than men, and when the problems were difficult. Encouraging gestures adversely affected performance and confidence in men. Such results suggest that gestures selectively influence cognition and metacognition and highlight the importance of task- (i.e., difficulty) and individual-related variables (i.e., sex) in elucidating the links between gestures, confidence, and spatial thinking

Motion event expressions in language and gesture: Evidence from Persian

How do people conceptualize motion events and talk about them? The current study examines how gestural representations of motion events arise from linguistic expressions in Persian, which has characteristics of both Talmy’s satellite- and verb-framed languages. We examined native Persian speakers’ speech and gestures in describing 20 motion events. We focused on two motion event components: path (trajectory of motion like up) and manner (how the action is performed like jumping). Results indicated that when expressing motion, Persian speakers produced path in both speech and gesture, whereas manner was conveyed only through speech (mostly as adverbs). Additionally, dynamic gestures tended to occur in the same order they were uttered. The difference between path and manner findings asks for further research to examine language-gesture interaction in detail among different languages. Results also suggest refinement in gesture theories that argue for one-to-one correspondence between speech and gesture

Describing Causal Events: Evidence from Patients with Focal Brain Injury

We investigated (1) how focal brain-injured patients describe causal events (causal verb like “push” and the instrument of the action like “the stick”) in speech and co-speech gestures and (2) whether gestures compensate for their impaired verbalization. 16 left hemisphere damaged (LHD), 16 right hemisphere damaged (RHD) and 14 controls were asked to describe causal events (22 video clips). The correct use of causal action components in speech and iconic gestures referring to these actions were coded. Results indicated that LHD patients were less accurate in using both components in speech compared to RHD and controls. There was no difference in the number of iconic gestures among groups. Yet, LHD patients were more likely to omit or misuse both components in speech and in gesture than RHD and controls. Particularly, damage to the left inferior and middle frontal gyrus resulted in problems in both modalities, suggesting conceptual deficits of causality

Guidelines for designing social robots as second language tutors

In recent years, it has been suggested that social robots have potential as tutors and educators for both children and adults. While robots have been shown to be effective in teaching knowledge and skill-based topics, we wish to explore how social robots can be used to tutor a second language to young children. As language learning relies on situated, grounded and social learning, in which interaction and repeated practice are central, social robots hold promise as educational tools for supporting second language learning. This paper surveys the developmental psychology of second language learning and suggests an agenda to study how core concepts of second language learning can be taught by a social robot. It suggests guidelines for designing robot tutors based on observations of second language learning in human-human scenarios, various technical aspects and early studies regarding the effectiveness of social robots as second language tutors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved