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Gesture in Thought
Book chapter

Gesture in Thought

Andrew T Stull, Mary Hegarty, Susan Wagner Cook, Arthur B Markman, Robert G Morrison, Susan Goldin-Meadow and Keith J Holyoak
The Oxford Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning
Oxford Library of Psychology, Oxford University Press
03/21/2012
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734689.013.0032

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Abstract

The spontaneous gestures that speakers produce when they talk about a task reflect aspects of the speakers' knowledge about that task, aspects that are often not found in the speech that accompanies the gestures. But gesture can go beyond reflecting a speaker's current knowledge—it frequently presages the next steps the speaker will take in acquiring new knowledge, suggesting that gesture may play a role in cognitive change. To investigate this hypothesis, we explore the functions gesture serves with respect to both communication (the effects gesture has on listeners) and cognition (the effects gesture has on speakers themselves). We also explore the mechanisms that underlie the production of gesture, and we provide evidence that gesture has roots in speech, visuospatial thinking, and action. Gesturing is not merely hand waving, nor is it merely a window into the mind. It can affect how we think and reason and, as such, offers a useful tool to both learners and researchers.
 expert speech transitional knowledge working memory embodied cognition learning communication novice visuospatial thinking

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