In 4 experiments, the authors examined the use of the hands in simple arithmetic tasks. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that pointing increases both accuracy and speed in counting arrays of items, whether those items are identical or distinctive. Experiment 3 demonstrated that individuals tend to nod their heads when not allowed to point and that nodding is associated with greater accuracy, suggesting that pointing is functional for reasons other than simply providing additional visual information. Experiment 4 examined changes in speech when adding arrays of digits, depending on whether participants were allowed to use their hands to manipulate the tokens on which the digits were presented. Taken together, the results of these experiments are consistent with recent research suggesting that gesture can serve cognitive functions and that the hands can support the binding of representational elements to their functional roles by providing phase markers for cyclic cognitive processes.
%0 Journal Article
%1 carlson2007hes
%A Carlson, Richard A.
%A Avraamides, Marios N.
%A Cary, Melanie
%A Strasberg, Stephen
%D 2007
%I American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@ apa. org; Web site: http://www. apa. org/publications
%J Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
%K arithmetic body cognition cognitive control counting embodied gesture mathematics motion private speech
%N 4
%P 747--756
%T What Do the Hands Externalize in Simple Arithmetic?.
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.33.4.747
%V 33
%X In 4 experiments, the authors examined the use of the hands in simple arithmetic tasks. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that pointing increases both accuracy and speed in counting arrays of items, whether those items are identical or distinctive. Experiment 3 demonstrated that individuals tend to nod their heads when not allowed to point and that nodding is associated with greater accuracy, suggesting that pointing is functional for reasons other than simply providing additional visual information. Experiment 4 examined changes in speech when adding arrays of digits, depending on whether participants were allowed to use their hands to manipulate the tokens on which the digits were presented. Taken together, the results of these experiments are consistent with recent research suggesting that gesture can serve cognitive functions and that the hands can support the binding of representational elements to their functional roles by providing phase markers for cyclic cognitive processes.
@article{carlson2007hes,
abstract = {In 4 experiments, the authors examined the use of the hands in simple arithmetic tasks. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that pointing increases both accuracy and speed in counting arrays of items, whether those items are identical or distinctive. Experiment 3 demonstrated that individuals tend to nod their heads when not allowed to point and that nodding is associated with greater accuracy, suggesting that pointing is functional for reasons other than simply providing additional visual information. Experiment 4 examined changes in speech when adding arrays of digits, depending on whether participants were allowed to use their hands to manipulate the tokens on which the digits were presented. Taken together, the results of these experiments are consistent with recent research suggesting that gesture can serve cognitive functions and that the hands can support the binding of representational elements to their functional roles by providing phase markers for cyclic cognitive processes.},
added-at = {2008-04-16T00:57:59.000+0200},
author = {Carlson, Richard A. and Avraamides, Marios N. and Cary, Melanie and Strasberg, Stephen},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2dff36d869df9e728c7ce50f9e087a40b/yish},
interhash = {41c33f749f969e895ba1bb3ee36b23f8},
intrahash = {dff36d869df9e728c7ce50f9e087a40b},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition},
keywords = {arithmetic body cognition cognitive control counting embodied gesture mathematics motion private speech},
number = 4,
pages = {747--756},
publisher = {American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@ apa. org; Web site: http://www. apa. org/publications},
timestamp = {2008-04-16T00:57:59.000+0200},
title = {What Do the Hands Externalize in Simple Arithmetic?.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.33.4.747},
volume = 33,
year = 2007
}