Pointing is a ubiquitous means of communication. Nevertheless, observers systematically misinterpret the location indicated by pointers. We examined whether these misunderstandings result from the typically different viewpoints of pointers and observers. Participants either pointed themselves or interpreted points while assuming the pointer’s or a typical observer perspective in a virtual reality environment. The perspective had a strong effect on the relationship between pointing gestures and referents, whereas the task had only a minor influence. This suggests that misunderstandings between pointers and observers primarily result from their typically different viewpoints.

Though ubiquitous in human communication, pointing gestures are often misunderstood. This study addressed how the observer's perspective affects pointing perception. More specifically, we tested the hypothesis that two different visual cues-namely (a) the vector defined by the pointer's arm or finger and (b) the pointer's index finger position in the observer's visual field-determine pointing perception and that their relative influence depends on the observer's perspective. In three experiments, participants judged the location at which a virtual or real pointer was pointing from different viewpoints. The experiments show that the observer perspective has a considerable effect on pointing perception. The more the observer's gaze direction is aligned with the pointing arm, the more observers rely on the position of the pointing finger in their visual field and the less they rely on its direction. Public Significance StatementPointing gestures are an essential part of human communication, but observers often have difficulties to interpret the target correctly. In this study, we show that two different strategies for the interpretation are used, depending on the observer's perspective on the pointing gesture and how this affects the perception. When standing close to the pointer, people rely on the same strategy as pointers do-using the pointer's index finger as an indicator for the target location-but when seeing the pointing arm from a sideward viewpoint, it is mainly extrapolated.

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