Gesture as simulated action: Revisiting the framework

Abstract

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.

Nodding and shaking of the head as simulated approach and avoidance responses

“…These data provide further support for embodiment hypotheses based on observations of compatibility effects involving higher cognitive processes and the movement of other body parts (Chen & Bargh, 1999;Zwaan & Madden, 2005;Mahon & Caramazza, 2008;Barsalou, 2010;Meteyard, Cuadrado, Bahrami, & Vigliocco, 2012;Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002;Dominey et al, 2015;Körner et al, 2015). Our results also provide new data on the relationship between gestures and thought (Hostetter & Alibali, 2008;2010;2019;Alibali et al, 2014). In addition, the work presented here allowed us to identify the level at which the sensorimotor simulation mechanism is activated and therefore to distinguish between explicit and implicit embodiment effects.…”

“…Nonverbal behavior is a very fertile area for research into the relationships between cognition, emotion and sensorimotor mechanisms posited by the embodiment perspective (Krauss, Chen & Gotfexnum, 2000;Goldin-Meadow, 2003;Pouw, De Nooijer, Van Gog, Zwaan & Paas, 2014;Hostetter & Alibali, 2019). Many scholars have shown that both the processing and production of gestures are based on the instantaneous, automatic and unconscious mechanism of sensorimotor simulation (Gallese & Goldman, 1998;Gallese, 2001;Moors & De Houwer, 2006;Hostetter & Alibali, 2008;Shtyrov, Butorina, Nikolaeva & Stroganova, 2014).…”

“…Hence, the habitual movements of body parts, such as the gestures that accompany speech to express meanings, intentions and feelings, are considered to be strongly associated with cognitive, emotional and social contents (McNeill, 1992;Krauss, 1998;Kelly, Barr, Church & Lynch, 1999;Barsalou, Niedenthal, Barbey & Ruppert 2003;Niedenthal et al, 2005;Barsalou, 2008;Horstmann & Ansorge, 2011;Reimann et al, 2012). In particular, according to the recently developed "Gestures as Simulated Action" (GSA) framework (Hostetter & Alibali, 2008;2010;2019), gestures, as a special form of action that itself derives from sensorimotor simulation, are deemed to interact with cognitive processes to generate compatibility effects (Alibali, Boncoddo & Hostetter, 2014).…”

Gesture Use and Processing: A Review on Individual Differences in Cognitive Resources

“…Several theories suggest how and why gestures occur during communication and thinking. Mechanistic theories mostly propose how gestures arise during communication and thinking (e.g., McNeill, 1992 , 2005 ; Hostetter and Alibali, 2008 , 2018 ). Functionalist theories, on the other hand, try to explain why we use gestures and the functions that gestures serve during communication and thinking, both for the speaker and the listener (e.g., Goldin-Meadow et al, 2001 ; Kita and Özyürek, 2003 ; Pouw et al, 2014 ; Cook and Fenn, 2017 ; Kita et al, 2017 ; Novack and Goldin-Meadow, 2017 ).…”

The Future of Embodied Design for Mathematics Teaching and Learning

“…Non-redundant or "mismatching" gestures are common when people talk about knowledge that is based in perception or action (Hostetter and Alibali, 2019). People may express their perceptual or action-based knowledge in their gestures, while at the same time expressing some aspects of that knowledge in verbal form.…”