Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Nonconscious Mimicry

Nonconscious Mimicry

Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

Purposive Learning

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...

Statistical Significance

Statistical Significance

Once data is collected from both the experimental and the control groups, a statistical analysis is conducted to find out if there are meaningful differences between the two groups. A statistical analysis determines how likely any difference found is due to chance (and thus not meaningful). In psychology, group differences are considered meaningful, or significant, if the odds that these differences occurred by chance alone are 5 percent or less. Stated another way, if we repeated this...

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role of...

Steps in the Modeling Process

Steps in the Modeling Process

Albert Bandura's theory of observational learning identifies four critical processes: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and reinforcement or motivation.
Attention is the first necessary component for observational learning. It involves focusing on what the model is doing and saying. For example, if you decide to take a drawing class to enhance your skills, you need to pay close attention to the instructor's words and hand movements. The characteristics of the model significantly...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Community-Centered Funding and Research to Advance Health Equity.

NEJM catalyst innovations in care delivery·2026

Same author

ManyNumbers 3: A Multi-Lab Study of Demographic Correlates of Early Number Knowledge.

Developmental science·2026

Same author

Gesture-based Instruction Enhances Neural Synchrony and Predicts Children's Mathematical Learning.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2026

Same author

Adults' number gestures focus children on numeracy.

Cognition·2026

Same author

Systematic variation in proportion judgments: Spatial features impact adults' strategies and decisions.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026

Same author

What can language creation tell us about language evolution?

The American psychologist·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 17, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Published on: January 26, 2024

Doing gesture promotes learning a mental transformation task better than seeing gesture.

Susan Goldin-Meadow¹, Susan C Levine, Elena Zinchenko

¹Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. sgm@uchicago.edu

Developmental Science

|October 31, 2012

Summary

Performing actions, like gestures, significantly enhances learning more than observation. Specifically, producing a relevant "Move" gesture improved children's task performance compared to merely observing it.

More Related Videos

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Capturing Dynamic Finger Gesturing with High-resolution Surface Electromyography and Computer Vision

Capturing Dynamic Finger Gesturing with High-resolution Surface Electromyography and Computer Vision

Published on: March 28, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 17, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Published on: January 26, 2024

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Capturing Dynamic Finger Gesturing with High-resolution Surface Electromyography and Computer Vision

Capturing Dynamic Finger Gesturing with High-resolution Surface Electromyography and Computer Vision

Published on: March 28, 2025

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Educational Psychology

Background:

Action-based learning is generally more effective than observational learning.
The specific role of communicative gestures in learning, particularly in children, requires further investigation.
Understanding how different types of gestures influence cognitive tasks is crucial for educational strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether producing communicative gestures enhances learning in a mental transformation task for 6-year-old children.
To compare the learning effects of producing a task-relevant gesture versus observing a gesture.
To determine if the type of gesture (e.g., 'Move' vs. 'Point') influences its effectiveness in promoting learning.

Main Methods:

158 six-year-old children participated in a mental transformation task.
Children were divided into groups: some produced a 'Move' gesture, others a 'Point' gesture.
All children observed the experimenter performing either a 'Move' or 'Point' gesture relevant to the task.

Main Results:

Children who produced a 'Move' gesture showed greater improvement in the task than those who only observed the 'Move' gesture.
Neither producing nor observing the 'Point' gesture led to significant learning improvements.
The effectiveness of gesture in promoting learning was dependent on the gesture conveying task-relevant information.

Conclusions:

Producing gestures that convey task-relevant information is more beneficial for learning than passively observing them.
The type of gesture matters; 'Move' gestures relevant to the task facilitated learning, unlike 'Point' gestures.
This study highlights the importance of active participation and meaningful gesture in children's learning processes.