Gesture as simulated action: Revisiting the framework

Abstract

The Gesture as Simulated Action (GSA) framework was proposed to explain how gestures arise from embodied simulations of the motor and perceptual states that occur during speaking and thinking (Hostetter & Alibali, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 495-514, 2008). In this review, we revisit the framework's six main predictions regarding gesture rates, gesture form, and the cognitive cost of inhibiting gesture. We find that the available evidence largely supports the main predictions of the framework. We also consider several challenges to the framework that have been raised, as well as several of the framework's limitations as it was originally proposed. We offer additional elaborations of the framework to address those challenges that fall within the framework's scope, and we conclude by identifying key directions for future work on how gestures arise from an embodied mind.

Keywords: Action; Embodied cognition; Gesture; Imagery; Language production.