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New paper in Cognition: Speaking and gesturing guide event perception during message conceptualization: Evidence from eye movements by Ercenur Ünal, Francie Manhardt, & Aslı Özyürek

In the present study, the goal of the authors was to provide empirical evidence for the integration of the speech and gesture during message conceptualization.

It has been argued that cross-linguistic differences in gesture arise due to interface between linguistic conceptualization and gesture production during message planning. However, evidence for this claim so far comes from behavioral studies only. In the present study, authors present evidence for this claim based on eyegaze behavior during message preparation. Results reveal that when people encode path of motion additionally in gesture, they allocated extra attention to path of motion. Accordingly, not only what people say but also whether and how people gesture guide where they look at in a scene.

Curious to learn more? You can find the paper (open access) here.