Seminar I Why are gestures not always helpful? Task, gesture and individual characteristics influencing gesture’s effects on narrative comprehension

Storytelling, and learning from narratives, is ubiquitous in human development across the lifespan. A growing body of evidence suggests that gestures can influence our recall and understanding of narratives. In this presentation, I will draw on studies from my own research showing the effects that observing and producing gestures can have on narrative recall and comprehension. We will focus on which types of gestures affect recall, and interactions between gesture use and task and individual characteristics on learning. While overall, gestures are beneficial for learning, they are not universally helpful. Careful attention must be given to specific task manipulations, as well as individual differences.