Do Blind People Need Gestures to Communicate Effectively

Bibliographic Data

ID21390104
AuthorsJolanta Sak-Wernicka (0000-0002-8548-5873, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume71
Issue10sp
Pages123-138
Publication date2023-11-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRoczniki Humanistyczne (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0035-7707 • E-ISSN: 2544-5200
PublisherTowarzystwo Naukowe KUL (PUBLISHER • PL)
DOI10.18290/rh237110sp-6
OpenAlexW4388973647
LanguageEN
References cited7

Gestures are known to play an important role in communication, but to this day it is still not clear what impact visual impairment has on gesture production. The main objective of this article is to investigate: (1) whether the lack of vision reduces (or completely blocks) gesture production in blind individuals, and (2) whether this reduction in (or lack of) gestures has an effect on their abilities to communicate. To address this issue, we performed an experiment in which congenitally blind and sighted people were compared on the number and types of gestures they produced when playing the word-guessing game TABOO. The results obtained confirm that, compared to people who are sighted, blind individuals produce significantly fewer gestures when they communicate. This, however, does not have any negative impact on how effective they are in conveying their messages. The analyses also show that gestures play different roles for blind and sighted people

Cognitive psychology · Gesture · Taboo · Artificial Intelligence · Communication · Computer Science · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Psychology · Tactile and Sensory Interactions

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