Gesture Production and Text Structure

Abstract

In the present pilot study, we examined the relationship between gesture and verbal production. Subjects were asked to read a story and then to narrate what they remembered. We analyzed verbal production according to Kintsch's procedure and obtained a list of hierarchically organized propositions that represented the meaning of subject's narration. Propositions were subdivided into High- and Low-level propositions. Further, we analyzed gesture production by identifying hand or arm movement that accompanied subject's narration. Each gesture was associated with the word simultaneously produced, and then with the proposition to which the word belonged. Analysis showed subjects were more likely to produce gestures in association with High- rather than with Low-level propositions. High-level propositions may elicit the production of gestures which, in turn, mark the importance of verbal meaning conveyed simultaneously.