Gesture in Experimental Studies: How Videotape Technology Can Advance Psychological Theory

Eliza L. Congdon*, Miriam A. Novack, Susan Goldin-Meadow

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Video recording technology allows for the discovery of psychological phenomena that might otherwise go unnoticed. We focus here on gesture as an example of such a phenomenon. Gestures are movements of the hands or body that people spontaneously produce while speaking or thinking through a difficult problem. Despite their ubiquity, speakers are not always aware that they are gesturing, and listeners are not always aware that they are observing gesture. We review how video technology has facilitated major insights within the field of gesture research by allowing researchers to capture, quantify, and better understand these transient movements. We propose that gesture, which can be easily missed if it is not a researcher’s focus, has the potential to affect thinking and learning in the people who produce it, as well as in the people who observe it, and that it can alter the communicative context of an experiment or social interaction. Finally, we discuss the challenges of using video technology to capture gesture in psychological studies, and we discuss opportunities and suggestions for making use of this rich source of information both within the field of developmental psychology and within the field of organizational psychology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)489-499
Number of pages11
JournalOrganizational Research Methods
Volume21
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2018

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant R01-HD047450 to S. Goldin Meadow and by the National Science Foundation Grant SBE-0541957 (Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center; S. Goldin-Meadow is a co-principal investigator) as well as a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (R305 B090025) to the University of Chicago in support of E. Congdon and M. Novack. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, or U.S. Department of Education.

Keywords

  • best practices
  • coding system
  • gesture
  • participant observation
  • reliability
  • video recording technology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Decision Sciences
  • Strategy and Management
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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