Effects of type of information (abstract-concrete) and field dependence on asymmetry of hand movements during speech.
Asymmetry of object-focused (gestural) and body-focused (self-touching) movements was investigated in a sample of 14 field dependent and 14 field-independent right-handed male college students. The data were obtained from standardized, videotaped interviews which consisted of an abstract and a concrete communicative task. Significant right-hand asymmetry was found for gestures which depict or represent (motor primary movements,p less than .01) but not for nonrepresentational speech primacy movements. In general, field-independents had greater right-hand asymmetry than field-dependents for object-focused movements, whereas field-dependents showed more left-hand asymmetry of self-touching. Results are discussed in terms of a possible relationship between extent of movements asymmetry and the use of visual imagery in verbal encoding.
D000293:Adolescent; D003071:Cognition; D005364:Field Dependence-Independence; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D007697:Kinesics; D008297:Male; D014705:Verbal Behavior