Gestural Communication Research Articles

Construction grammar for monkeys?

AbstractIn recent years, multiple researchers working on the evolution of language have put forward the idea that the theoretical framework of usage-based approaches and Construction Grammar is highly suitable for modelling the emergence of human language from pre-linguistic or proto-linguistic communication systems. This also raises the question of whether usage-based and constructionist approaches can be integrated with the analysis of animal communication systems. In this paper, we review possible avenues where usage-based, constructionist approaches can make contact with animal communication research, which in turn also has implications for theories of language evolution. To this end, we first give an overview of key assumptions of usage-based and constructionist approaches before reviewing some key issues in animal communication research through the lens of usage-based, constructionist approaches. Specifically, we will discuss how research on alarm calls, gestural communication and symbol-trained animals can be brought into contact with usage-based, constructionist theorizing. We argue that a constructionist view of animal communication can yield new perspectives on its relation to human language, which in turn has important implications regarding the evolution of language. Importantly, this theoretical approach also generates hypotheses that have the potential of complementing and extending results from the more formalist approaches that often underlie current animal communication research.

Social hyperscanning with fNIRS

Abstract The interest of neuroscience has been aimed at the investigation of the neural bases underlying gestural communication. This research explored the intra- and inter-brain connectivity between encoder and decoder. Specifically, adopting a “hyperscanning paradigm” with the functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) cerebral connectivity in oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin levels were revealed during the reproduction of affective, social, and informative gestures of different valence. Results showed an increase of intra- and inter-brain connectivity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for affective gestures, in superior frontal gyrus for social gestures and in frontal eyes field for informative gestures. Moreover, encoder showed a higher intra-brain connectivity in posterior parietal areas more than decoder. Finally, an increasing of inter-brain connectivity more than intra-brain (ConIndex) was observed in left regions for positive gestures. The present research has explored how the individuals neural tuning mechanisms turn out to be strongly influenced by the nature of specific gestures.

La expresividad del cuerpo y la comunicación gestual en el baile flamenco

El arte flamenco se escribe con mayúscula. De una tradición anclada al pasado podríamos encontrar su explicación actual a través de pasajes de la mitología antigua, al igual que de la herencia de árabes y sefardíes. El presente artículo pretende poner en valor el potencial expresivo del cuerpo y la comunicación gestual en el baile flamenco. Con ello, pies y manos, cara y cabello dibujan el compás en el escenario y permiten diseñar siluetas con el cuerpo como si de un pincel se tratase. Mientras que la expresividad eclosiona con tonos cromáticos que facilita el deleite y la belleza. Un baile que se nutre de objetos para significarlo y el bailaor o bailaora se vale del zapateo para hacerse, también, en músico que lleva el compás, comunicando según su intensidad o velocidad de ejecución. El cuerpo en el baile flamenco y la comunicación gestual es un pretexto para iniciar un debate que no concluye sino que se nutre de la herencia y camina, evolucionando, hacia un presente con futuro. Flamenco art is written with a capital letter. From a tradition anchored in the past we could find its current explanation through passages from ancient mythology, as well as from the heritage of Arabs and Sephardim. Everything gives us to understand the expressive value of the body and the gestual communication in the flamenco dance. Body and face, hair and hands draw the compass on stage. They allow to draw silhouettes that take the compass taking as a brush the body and its expressiveness hatches with chromatic tones that facilitate the delight and the beauty. A dance that is nourished by objects to signify it and the dancer uses the zapateo to become, also, a musician who carries the compás and communicates according to its intensity or speed of execution. The body in flamenco dance and gestural communication is a pretext to start a debate that does not end, but is nourished by heritage and walks, evolving, towards a present with a future.

Study of the Understanding of Gestural Communication in Children with Intellectual Disabilities in the Dynamics of Psychological Impact

Objective: The purpose of the study is to investigate the specific features of non-verbal communication in children with intellectual disabilities in the dynamics of psychological impact. Background: Gestures are one of the most important components of non-verbal communication. The development of non-verbal communication in children with intellectual disabilities contributes to their normal social adaptation. Method: To study the current state and dynamics of the development of the ability to recognise and understand gestures in the process of psychological influence, factor analysis was used by the principal component method with the use of varimax rotation. To verify the applicability of factor analysis to the selected variables, the Kaiser-Meier-Olkin measure of sample adequacy and Bartlett's sphericity test were used. Results: The data of the study showed that, depending on the level of intelligence or, more precisely, on the diagnosis given to the child, there are differences in the dynamics of the development of the components of non-verbal communication. Children with mild mental retardation display lower results than children with mixed specific disorders of psychological development and children with a normative level of intellectual development. Conclusion: The results obtained in the process of this study can be applied in practice by teachers and psychologists when working with children with intellectual disabilities

Analysing the position of female Muslims in patriarchal society and their choice of donning hijab amidst socio-political context.

Discourse on Muslim women’s oppression in the context of Muslim and non-Muslim countries discuss on various media and academic debates. These discussions heavily focus on their position in Islamic society, their interpretation within feminism, and larger discussions regarding donning Hijab and Islamophobia. Primarily, the adaptation of Hijab as a garment most of the time refers from religious to social pressure and relates to political ideologies. This article combines the stories and facts beyond those narratives finding identities which are entirely personal when it comes to donning the hijab. This analysis base on the theories ‘Orientalism’, ‘Male gaze’ and books such as Mohanty’s Under Western Eyes, The Headscarf Controversies by Hilal Elver, Beyond the Veil by Fatema Mernissi, Islam vs Islamism by Peter R Demant, etc and the primary discussion with five students from different Muslim countries living in the UK. Through those discussions, tradition and ethnicity appear as having a significant influence on religious practices. However, factors such as one’s cultural context or geographical location were also discussed as relevant to their decision. This article explores the fact the donning of Hijab or covering oneself should be a woman's personal choice and right and lately, how it becomes a communicative gesture in a public space. Through comparative studies on the adaptation of Hijab in Patriarchal society it explains Muslim woman’s subjectivity towards hijab is not away from political connotations.

Gesture-speech physics in fluent speech and rhythmic upper limb movements.

It is commonly understood that hand gesture and speech coordination in humans is culturally and cognitively acquired, rather than having a biological basis. Recently, however, the biomechanical physical coupling of arm movements to speech vocalization has been studied in steady‐state vocalization and monosyllabic utterances, where forces produced during gesturing are transferred onto the tensioned body, leading to changes in respiratory‐related activity and thereby affecting vocalization F0 and intensity. In the current experiment (n = 37), we extend this previous line of work to show that gesture–speech physics also impacts fluent speech. Compared with nonmovement, participants who are producing fluent self‐formulated speech while rhythmically moving their limbs demonstrate heightened F0 and amplitude envelope, and such effects are more pronounced for higher‐impulse arm versus lower‐impulse wrist movement. We replicate that acoustic peaks arise especially during moments of peak impulse (i.e., the beat) of the movement, namely around deceleration phases of the movement. Finally, higher deceleration rates of higher‐mass arm movements were related to higher peaks in acoustics. These results confirm a role for physical impulses of gesture affecting the speech system. We discuss the implications of gesture–speech physics for understanding of the emergence of communicative gesture, both ontogenetically and phylogenetically.

How zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) target gestural communication within and between age groups

Gestural communication among nonhuman primates evolved as a response to their complex social environment. In this scope, males and females, adults and non-adults employ different gestures, probably due to their distinct social roles. In this study, a within and between age group analysis of the gestures produced in different contexts was carried out. For this purpose, a community of 16 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) was observed during a 3-month period. Initially, data were collected through ad libitum sampling in order to identify their gestural repertoire. Subsequently, focal sampling was used to identify who gesticulated with whom and in what context. Overall, the results showed that juvenile chimpanzees tend to direct their gestures to different age groups according to the context; more specifically, juvenile chimpanzees frequently gesticulate within their age group in play contexts, and with older individuals in locomotion and affiliation contexts. Based on this, a certain degree of flexibility in juvenile chimpanzees gestural signalling is suggested, to the extent that they rather direct their gestural signs to chimpanzees of an apparently more adequate age group, with the aim of involving themselves in the activities’ context in which the gestural sign is produced.

The Relationship Between Gestural Communication, Self - Efficacy, Preschool Progress and Gender Differences

The paper presents the resultsof a pilot study conducted on a sample of 161 preschoolers of ages 4 to 6 years old, in which 79 boys, 82 girls and 8 preschool teachers. The aim of the research was to establish the relationship between the self-efficacy, gestural communication and the preschooler progress. Keywords: communication, preschool teachers, preschoolers, self-efficacy, preschool progress DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-35-05 Publication date: December 31 st 2020

Pantomime (Not Silent Gesture) in Multimodal Communication: Evidence From Children’s Narratives

Pantomime has long been considered distinct from co-speech gesture. It has therefore been argued that pantomime cannot be part of gesture-speech integration. We examine pantomime as distinct from silent gesture, focusing on non-co-speech gestures that occur in the midst of children’s spoken narratives. We propose that gestures with features of pantomime are an infrequent but meaningful component of a multimodal communicative strategy. We examined spontaneous non-co-speech representational gesture production in the narratives of 30 monolingual English-speaking children between the ages of 8- and 11-years. We compared the use of co-speech and non-co-speech gestures in both autobiographical and fictional narratives and examined viewpoint and the use of non-manual articulators, as well as the length of responses and narrative quality. The use of non-co-speech gestures was associated with longer narratives of equal or higher quality than those using only co-speech gestures. Non-co-speech gestures were most likely to adopt character-viewpoint and use non-manual articulators. The present study supports a deeper understanding of the term pantomime and its multimodal use by children in the integration of speech and gesture.

Different Ways of Making a Point: A Study of Gestural Communication in Typical and Atypical Early Development.

Deictic pointing is among the most impaired gestures in children with autism. Research on typical development demonstrates that contact with the referent and handshape when pointing, are associated with different communicative intentions and developmental stages. Despite their importance, the morphological features of pointing remain largely unexplored in autism. The aim of the present study was to map out pointing production in autism with a focus on handshape and contact with the referent. Participants (age range = 1–6 years old) with ASD (n = 16), at high risk for autism (n = 13) and typically developing children (n = 18) interacted with their caregivers in a gesture elicitation task. Results showed that children with ASD produced fewer pointing gestures overall and fewer index finger pointing without contact with the referent compared to the typically developing children.Lay SummaryChildren with autism produce less gestures than typical children, and pointing gestures appear to be more affected than other gesture types. Whether children point using their index finger or the palm, and whether they touch or not the referent is crucial for understanding communicative intentions. This is the first study to document experimentally exactly how pointing gestures differ in autism in comparison to typical development. We found important qualitative differences in the communicative patterns of children with autism and at risk for autism, that may serve to identify potential new markers for early diagnosis. Autism Res 2021, 14: 984–996. © 2020 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Intentional Alarm Calling in Wild Female Putty-Nosed Monkeys (Cercopithecus nictitans)

The intentionality that characterizes human language currently still lacks conclusive evidence for precursors in animal vocal communication. Complex intersubjectivity as in language is usually supposed to be either evolutionary rooted in gestural communication or unique to humans. Here we systematically tested various groups of wild putty-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus nictitans) for female first-order intentional alarm calling using a recently suggested framework to comparatively test for intentionality in animal communication. Specifically, we used a leopard model to elicit female alarm calls that usually trigger the group’s male alarm calls and further recruit that male to mob and deter the nearby predator. We experimentally disentangled male alarm calling from male predator mobbing to test for female goal directedness in recruiting males for predator defense, voluntary alarm call usage, and the successful manipulation of male behavior. Females monitored male behavior and immediately ceased own alarm calling once the group’s male took over group defense but not after perceiving the male’s typical alarm calls. Unsuccessful male recruitments and the absence of male predator mobbing resulted in persistent and considerably longer female alarm calling. We discuss different communicative functions of female alarms and conclude that our results are most likely explained by the intentional use of female alarms in order to recruit males as ‘hired guns.’

Gesture in hyperscanning during observation. Inter-brain connectivity

Non-verbal communication is a joint action defined by the use of different gestures’ types. The present research aimed to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates during the observation of affective, social and informative gestures in non-verbal communication between encoder and decoder. Moreover, the hyperscanning paradigm allows investigating the individuals’ inter-brain connectivity. Regarding gestures’ type, the study’s results showed a decrease of alpha (increased brain activity), and an increase of delta and theta brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity for affective and social gestures in frontal and posterior areas for informative ones. Concerning gestures’ valence, an increase of left frontal theta activity and inter-brain connectivity was observed. Finally, about the inter-agents’ role, the same brain responses and inter-brain connectivity patterns emerged both in encoder and decoder. This study allows discovering neural responses underlying gestures’ type and valence during action observation, highlighting the validity of hyperscanning to investigate inter-brain connectivity mechanisms.

HoloPointer: a virtual augmented reality pointer for laparoscopic surgery training

PurposeIn laparoscopic surgery training, experts guide novice physicians to desired instrument positions or indicate relevant areas of interest. These instructions are usually given via verbal communication or using physical pointing devices. To facilitate a sterile work flow and to improve training, new guiding methods are needed. This work proposes to use optical see-through augmented reality to visualize an interactive virtual pointer on the laparoscopic.MethodsAfter an interdisciplinary development, the pointer’s applicability and feasibility for training was evaluated and it was compared to a standard condition based on verbal and gestural communication only. In this study, ten surgical trainees were guided by an experienced trainer during cholecystectomies on a laparoscopic training simulator. All trainees completed a virtual cholecystectomy with and without the interactive virtual pointer in alternating order. Measures included procedure time, economy of movement and error rates.ResultsResults of standardized variables revealed significantly improved economy of movement (p = 0.047) and error rates (p = 0.047), as well as an overall improved user performance (Total z-score; p = 0.031) in conditions using the proposed method.ConclusionThe proposed HoloPointer is a feasible and applicable tool for laparoscopic surgery training. It improved objective performance metrics without prolongation of the task completion time in this pre-clinical setup.

The power of interactive flow in salsa dance: a motion-sensing phenomenological inquiry featuring two-time world champion, Anya Katsevman

ABSTRACT What might it be like to sense one’s motile power as a follower in salsa dance, particularly in moments when flow manifests? Does a follower simply go along with the lead’s flow or does a different kind of flow emerge? Such questions guided this motion-sensing phenomenological (MSP) inquiry into the felt sense of power experienced in the movements of interactive flow that features two-time world salsa champion, coach, and international judge, Anya Katsevman. Over the course of four years, interviews, observations and coaching sessions were analysed through theories purported by dance phenomenologist Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, Daniel Stern, a psychologist who inspired much of Sheets-Johnstone’s writing on the primacy of movement, and the radical phenomenology of Michel Henry who provides a philosophy upon which one may frame the phenomenological ‘search’ for meaning in kinaesthetic terms. The conceptual structure that guided the motion-sensing gathering of data and analysis was the interdisciplinary Function2Flow (F2F) model with its constitutive dimensions of movement Function, Form, Feeling and Flow. As such, the MSP analysis organized in accordance to the F2F model afforded the emergence of micro nuances, detailed physical sensations of this practice, within this macro themed structure. Hence, in detailing the bodily functions and forms of the nuanced gestural communication in salsa dance, with particular attention on the motile sense of power experienced by a follower, a physical pathway to better understanding existential feelings of interactive flow emerged.

Triadic interaction and gestural communication: Hierarchical and child-centered interactions of rural and urban Gujarati (Indian) caregivers and 9-month-old infants.

In this study 9-month-old infants in rural and urban Gujarat, India were compared in how frequently and in which way they engage in triadic interactions. It was assumed that urban caregivers would engage in a child-centered interaction style, frequently creating triadic interactions and following infants' signals. It was also expected that they would engage in more gestural communication in line with results on young infants often being involved in distal interactions. Rural caregivers were assumed to engage in a hierarchical interaction style in which the caregiver directs the interactions. It was expected that they would engage more in bodily ways of communicating as young infants in these communities often experience large amounts of proximal interactions. Infants were observed in everyday situations to assess their everyday engagement in triadic interactions and experience with gestures. Additionally, infants' mothers were asked to show their children something distant to assess how triadic attention is created. These interactions were video recorded and analyzed in terms of gestures and bodily behaviors. The results indicate that urban infants experience more triadic interactions and have caregivers who are more likely to follow their initiatives than rural infants. In the observations, urban caregivers also used gestures more frequently than rural caregivers. For rural infants the results are less clear with some indications that caregivers directed their attention more, particularly using their bodies. These differences were only apparent in the video-recorded situations. Implications for infants' further development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A Step Towards the Development of Socio-cognitive Agent

The embodiment of consciousness in socio-cognitive agents play a significant role in their acceptance as co-partners. Man-machine social interaction’s success is based on the agent’s generated believable behaviors. In this regard, such an agent needs to generate realistic beliefs, intentions, goals, self-regulation, verbal, and non-verbal communication (including gestures) according to the context of ongoing interaction is very important. This study hypothesizes that the implementation of the Theory of mind (TOM) may allow the agent to change its intentions, beliefs, and desires by predicting the existing perspective and mental states of the other agents involved in the given social interaction. To study the complexity of dynamics in a social context we have taken the case study of the ‘paper-scissor-rock’ game and developed a cognitive agent capable of using gestures for non-verbal communication following the Theory of mind. This work is in progress and is being developed on the iCub robot simulation. We have used tapped delay line neural networks as the basis for reinforcement learning and strategic planning. This paper will report the cognitive model, neural network initial results obtained.

Commentary for "Sex Steroids as Modulators of Gestural Communication".

Commentary for "Sex Steroids as Modulators of Gestural Communication".

Development’ monitoring of multimodal language matrix in a Down syndrome child

A síndrome de Down é uma condição genética resultante da presença extra de um cromossomo 21, que pode gerar diversos problemas de saúde e atraso no desenvolvimento cognitivo e da linguagem. A síndrome provoca mais déficits na linguagem expressiva oral, do que na compreensiva e a comunicação gestual. Durante o seu desenvolvimento, as crianças unem as produções vocais e gestuais em uma única matriz para produção linguística e significação. Nesse sentido, esse estudo objetivou analisar a matriz linguística multimodal de uma criança com síndrome de Down em processo de intervenção fonoaudiológica. Para isso, foram realizadas filmagens semanais, durante um ano, de atendimento fonoaudiológico de um menino com SD que possuía 16 meses no início da coleta. Posteriormente, os vídeos foram analisados no programa ELAN, a fim de descrever quali-quantitativamente os gestos e as produções vocais da criança. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da instituição de origem, sob o parecer de nº 1.360.357. Constatou-se que houve um crescimento conjunto entre as produções gestuais e vocais da criança estudada ao longo das sessões fonoaudiológicas.

The Natural Language Environment of 9-Month-Old Infants in Sweden and Concurrent Association With Early Language Development.

The language environment is important for the development of early communication and language. In the current study, we describe the natural home language environment of 9-month-old infants in Sweden and its concurrent association with language development. Eighty-eight families took part in the study. The home language environment was measured using the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system, and language development was assessed using Swedish Early Communicative Development Inventory (SECDI), a parent questionnaire. LENA measures showed dramatic variation between individuals but were comparable to and showed overlapping variance with previous studies conducted in English-speaking households. Nonetheless, there were significantly more infant vocalizations and conversational turns in the present study than in one previous study. Adult word count correlated significantly and positively with infants’ Use of gestures and the subscale of that section Communicative gestures. These together with another four non-significant associations formed a consistent overall pattern that suggested a link between infants’ language environment and language development. Although the direction of causality cannot be determined from the current data, future studies should examine children longitudinally to assess the directionality or the bidirectionality of the reported associations between infant’s language environment and language development.

Об антонимическом развертывании инвариантных параметров русских коммуникативных кинем

The study is carried out within the framework of semantic communicative analysis and is dedicated to the semantics of communicative kinesic means of the Russian language. It proves the ability of the invariant meanings of Russian communicative gestures to antonymic deployment in a statement. This trait can presumably be attributed to typological particularities of Russian language. The fact of submission of basic Russian kinemes to the algorithm of antonymic deployment of parameters discovered by M.G. Bezyaeva for verbal units, can form the foundation of a new approach to their description in dictionaries.