The effects of restricting hand gesture production on lexical retrieval and free recall

Abstract

This study examined hand gesture production and the effects of restricting gestures on lexical retrieval and free recall. Participants were presented 50 definitions and attempted to retrieve each target word. Half the participants performed the task under restricted hand gesture conditions. Participants with unrestricted hand gestures retrieved and subsequently recalled significantly more words than participants whose hands were restricted. The role of hand gesture production in retrieval of verbal information from semantic memory is discussed. In addition, the lexical retrieval and recall data are analyzed as a function of high and low verbal skill and quantity and type of hand gesture production. The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is discussed in the context of gesture use and retrieval advantages.