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Updated: May 29, 2026
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Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
Published on: January 26, 2024
Preschoolers' interpretations of gesture: label or action associate?
Paula Marentette1, Elena Nicoladis
1University of Alberta-Augustana Campus, 4901-46 Avenue, Camrose, Alberta T4V2R3, Canada. paula@ualberta.ca
Cognition
|September 24, 2011
Summary
Children do not automatically interpret gestures as object labels. Preschoolers associate gestures with actions, especially for arbitrary gestures, impacting their learning of new words and concepts.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistic Development
Background:
- Researchers often assume children treat gestures as symbolic labels for objects.
- This assumption is common in cognitive development studies.
- The intention is to use gestures symbolically, but children's interpretation is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether children interpret symbolic gestures as object labels.
- To examine how children learn from gesture-object pairings.
- To understand children's default interpretations of gestures in learning contexts.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Training paradigm with 2-4 year olds on iconic and arbitrary gesture-object pairs.
- Study 2: Fast mapping task with 40-60 month olds using novel nouns, iconic, and arbitrary gestures.
- Study 3: Investigated framing effects on gesture interpretation.
Main Results:
- Iconic gesture accuracy improved with age; arbitrary gestures did not.
- Children used fast mapping for novel nouns but not gestures.
- Children treated gestures as action associates, seeking objects that could perform the gesture's action.
Conclusions:
- Preschoolers do not default to interpreting gestures as object labels.
- Iconicity aids gesture comprehension, while arbitrary gestures are challenging.
- Children's interpretation of gestures is influenced by their perceived action-associative nature.
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