Individual differences in working memory predict the efficacy of experimenter-manipulated gestures in first-grade children

Bibliographic Data

ID21301927
AuthorsEliza L Congdon (0000-0002-4587-3441, Williams College, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume95
Issue5
Pages1494-1507
Publication date2024-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChild Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0009-3920 • E-ISSN: 1467-8624
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/cdev.14083
PMID38426550
OpenAlexW4392357603
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

Why is instructional gesture ineffective in some contexts? And what is it about learners that predicts whether they will learn from gestures? This between-subjects linear measurement training study compares gesture instruction to two controls—operant action and transient action—in a diverse sample of first-grade students (N = 174, Mage = 7.01 years; Nfemale = 84; Nmale = 90, 10% Latinx-identified; 70% White; 6% Black; 6% Asian; 18% multiple racial categories, Mincome = $59,750, SDincome ≈ $25,000; data collected 03/16–03/19). Results show that instructor-manipulated gestures may be less effective than demonstrative actions in part because they are iterative and do not leave a lasting trace. Verbal working memory, but not spatial, positively predicted an ability to learn from gesture and transient action in children with the lowest context knowledge

Action (physics) · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Context (archaeology) · Developmental psychology · Gesture · Linguistics · Nonverbal communication · Short-term memory · Working memory · Action Observation and Synchronization · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Neuroscience · Psychology

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