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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
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Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
Published on: January 26, 2024
Hand preferences in human adults: non-communicative actions versus communicative gestures
Hélène Cochet1, Jacques Vauclair
1Research Centre in the Psychology of Cognition, Language & Emotion, Aix-Marseille University, Department of Psychology, Aix-en-Provence, France. helene.cochet@univ-provence.fr
Summary
Handedness for manipulation and pointing gestures shows moderate consistency. Speech does not affect hand preference in pointing, suggesting distinct neural underpinnings for communicative and non-communicative actions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- Hand preference, or lateralization, is a fundamental aspect of human motor control.
- Understanding the relationship between different types of manual actions (manipulative vs. gestural) and their neural basis is crucial for cognitive science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hand preferences in adult participants for both bimanual manipulative tasks and pointing gestures.
- To examine if the presence of speech influences hand preference during pointing gestures.
- To explore the consistency of hand preference across different manual tasks and its relation to speech.
Main Methods:
- 127 adult participants completed tasks assessing hand preference for bimanual manipulation and pointing gestures.
- Pointing gestures were recorded under two conditions: with concurrent speech and in silence.
- Handedness scores were calculated and compared across tasks and conditions.
Main Results:
- Participant handedness classification was consistent for 85% across manipulation and pointing tasks.
- Moderate correlations were found between handedness scores for bimanual manipulation and pointing gestures.
- No significant difference in hand preference strength was observed between pointing gestures with and without speech.
Conclusions:
- Hand preference for manipulative and gestural actions exhibits moderate consistency, suggesting some shared but not identical neural control.
- The degree of hand preference for pointing gestures is not influenced by the presence of concurrent speech.
- Findings contribute to understanding the lateralization of manual actions, differentiating communicative gestures from non-communicative manipulations and speech.
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