Volume 13, Issue 26 (12-2023)
JRSM 2023, 13(26): 72-87 |
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Salehi H, Panahi S. The Function Of Using Gestures During Simple Arithmetic. JRSM 2023; 13 (26) :72-87
URL: http://jrsm.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3195-en.html
URL: http://jrsm.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3195-en.html
1- University of Isfahan , Salehi@spr.ui.ac.ir
2- University of Isfahan
2- University of Isfahan
Abstract: (2771 Views)
This investigation aimed to determine the role of using specific gestures in simple arithmetic. Forty-seven university students (25 females; Mage = 23.45 ± 3.51 years) voluntarily participated in this study. The participants completed two tasks. In the item-counting task, the participants were shown sets of identical colored squares and asked to count a specific color by either finger-pointing, nodding, or without any gestures while counting. After completing the counting task and for measurement of the working memory performance, the participants were asked to recall lists of alphabets that were previously to them. The results revealed that when using finger-pointing or nodding while counting, the participants counted faster and more accurately than when gestures were not allowed. The results of the memory task showed that the participants retrieved significantly more alphabets and more quickly when using finger-pointing or nodding while counting than when not gesturing. Thus, the gestures helped to free up cognitive resources. The findings support the hypothesis that gestures may facilitate cognitive functions by reducing cognitive load. This present investigation, consistent with previous research, suggests that we can benefit from using our hand and head movements to facilitate some simple arithmetic tasks.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
motor behavior
Received: 2023/04/23 | Accepted: 2023/12/23 | ePublished ahead of print: 2023/12/23 | Published: 2023/12/29
Received: 2023/04/23 | Accepted: 2023/12/23 | ePublished ahead of print: 2023/12/23 | Published: 2023/12/29
References
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33. Cartmill EA, Beilock S, Goldin-Meadow S. A word in the hand: Action, gesture and mental representation in humans and non-human primates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012;367(1585):129-43. [DOI:10.1098/rstb.2011.0162]
34. Alibali MW, Bassok M, Solomon KO, Syc SE, Goldin-Meadow S. Illuminating mental representations through speech and gesture. Psychological Science. 1999;10(4):327-33. [DOI:10.1111/1467-9280.00163]
35. Dargue N, Sweller N, Jones MP. When our hands help us understand: A meta-analysis into the effects of gesture on comprehension. Psychol Bull. 2019;145(8):765-84. [DOI:10.1037/bul0000202]
36. Soylu F, Lester Jr FK, Newman SD. You can count on your fingers: The role of fingers in early mathematical development. Journal of Numerical Cognition. 2018;4(1):107-35. [DOI:10.5964/jnc.v4i1.85]
37. Garber P, Goldin-Meadow S. Gesture offers insight into problem-solving in adults and children. Cognitive Science. 2002;26(6):817-31. [DOI:10.1207/s15516709cog2606_5]
38. Graham TA. The role of gesture in children's learning to count. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 1999;74(4):333-55. [DOI:10.1006/jecp.1999.2520]
39. Alibali MW, DiRusso AA. The function of gesture in learning to count: More than keeping track. Cognitive development. 1999;14(1):37-56. [DOI:10.1016/S0885-2014(99)80017-3]
40. Goldin-Meadow S, Nusbaum H, Kelly SD, Wagner S. Explaining math: Gesturing lightens the load. Psychological Science. 2001;12(6):516-22. [DOI:10.1111/1467-9280.00395]
41. Brooks NB, Barner D, Frank M, Goldin‐Meadow S. The role of gesture in supporting mental representations: The case of mental abacus arithmetic Cognitive Science 2017:1-22. [DOI:10.1111/cogs.12527]
42. Novack MA, Congdon EL, Hemani-Lopez N, Goldin-Meadow S. From action to abstraction using the hands to learn math. Psychological Science. 2014;25(4):903-10. [DOI:10.1177/0956797613518351]
43. Raghubar KP, Barnes MA, Hecht SA. Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches. Learning and individual differences. 2010;20(2):110-22. [DOI:10.1016/j.lindif.2009.10.005]
44. Andersen RA. Coordinate transformations and motor planning in posterior parietal cortex. In: Gazzaniga MS, editor. The cognitive neurosciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1995. p. 519-32.
45. Hayhoe MM, Shrivastava A, Mruczek R, Pelz JB. Visual memory and motor planning in a natural task. Journal of vision. 2003;3(1):6-. [DOI:10.1167/3.1.6]
46. Salway AF, Logie RH. Visuospatial working memory, movement control and executive demands. British Journal of Psychology. 1995;86(2):253-69. [DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1995.tb02560.x]
47. Wagner SM, Nusbaum H, Goldin-Meadow S. Probing the mental representation of gesture: Is handwaving spatial? Journal of Memory and Language. 2004;50(4):395-407. [DOI:10.1016/j.jml.2004.01.002]
48. Cook SW, Yip TKY, Goldin-Meadow S. Gestures, but not meaningless movements, lighten working memory load when explaining math. Language and cognitive processes. 2012;27(4):594-610. [DOI:10.1080/01690965.2011.567074]
49. Marstaller L, Burianová H. Individual differences in the gesture effect on working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 2013;20(3):496-500. [DOI:10.3758/s13423-012-0365-0]
50. Carlson RA, Avraamides MN, Cary M, Strasberg S. What do the hands externalize in simple arithmetic? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2007;33(4):747-56. [DOI:10.1037/0278-7393.33.4.747]
51. Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K. Cognitive psychology: Nelson Education; 2016.
52. Hand DJ, Taylor CC. Multivariate analysis of variance and repeated measures: A practical approach for behavioural scientists. London: CHAPMAN & HALL; 1987. [DOI:10.1007/978-94-009-3143-5]
53. Guthrie L, Mayer J, Vallée-Tourangeau F. The hands that guide the thinking: Interactivity in mental arithmetic. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. 2014;36.
54. Cowan N, Elliott EM, Saults JS, Morey CC, Mattox S, Hismjatullina A, et al. On the capacity of attention: Its estimation and its role in working memory and cognitive aptitudes. Cognitive psychology. 2005;51(1):42-100. [DOI:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2004.12.001]
55. Engle RW. Working memory capacity as executive attention. Current directions in psychological science. 2002;11(1):19-23. [DOI:10.1111/1467-8721.00160]
56. Ballard DH, Hayhoe MM, Pook PK, Rao RP. Deictic codes for the embodiment of cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1997;20(04):723-42. [DOI:10.1017/S0140525X97001611]
57. Carlson RA, Cassenti DN. Intentional control of event counting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2004;30(6):1235-51. [DOI:10.1037/0278-7393.30.6.1235]
58. Shafiei F, Ghassemzadeh H. The emerging approaches in the study of cognition: A review. Shenakht Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry. 2021;7(6):126-39 (In Persian). [DOI:10.52547/shenakht.7.6.126]
59. Cappuccio ML. Handbook of embodied cognition and sport psychology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press; 2019. [DOI:10.7551/mitpress/10764.001.0001]
60. Rosenbaum DA. Human motor control. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Academic Press; 2009.
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