Presents results of a quantitative analysis that evaluates the incidence of iconicity in a sign language, Italian Sign Language (LIS). Argues that the high incidence of iconicity is a response to a need for economy. To justify the coexistence of iconicity and arbitrariness in the LIS lexicon, suggests a revisiting of the notion of arbitrariness.…

Research suggests that sadness expressions may be more beneficial to children than other emotions when eliciting support from caregivers. It is unclear, however, when children develop the ability to regulate their displays of distress. The current study addressed this question. Distress facial expressions (e.g., fear, anger, and sadness) were…

This paper explores some conceptual and descriptive parallels between vocal and non-vocal communication, paying particular attention to the physical phenomena and semiotic functions in both speech and gesture. The discussion focuses on the interplay between organic and performance components of speech and gestural behaviour. A central thesis of…

An understanding of the structure and functions of expressive communication in face-to-face communication and audiovisual media can inform the development of new educational services for human development across cultures in the emerging broadband environment.

The provision of appropriate accessible or easy information has been recognized as a right for people with learning difficulties (Department of Health 2001a). However, there is a large and growing group of people with learning difficulties whose needs cannot be met by the use of techniques such as short sentences and appropriate pictures or…

Sign languages modulate the production of signs in space and use this spatial modulation to refer back to entities--to maintain coreference. We ask here whether spatial modulation is so fundamental to language in the manual modality that it will be invented by individuals asked to create gestures on the spot. English speakers were asked to…

A recent study by Zara Ambadar and Jeffrey F. Cohn of the University of Pittsburgh and Jonathan W. Schooler of the University of British Columbia, examined how motion affects people's judgment of subtle facial expressions. Two experiments demonstrated robust effects of motion in facilitating the perception of subtle facial expressions depicting…

When children explain their answers to a problem, they convey their thoughts not only in speech but also in the gestures that accompany that speech. Teachers, when explaining problems to a child, also convey information in both speech and gesture. Thus, there is an undercurrent of conversation that takes place in gesture alongside the acknowledged…

Gender studies show that women and men communicate using different styles, but may use either gender style if there are situational status differences. Considering the universal gesture of head nodding as a submissive form of expression, this study investigated head nodding by observing female and male college students in positions of subordinate…

In Study 1, 54 3-, 6- and 9-month-old infants interacted with an adult stranger who engaged in a face-to-face (dyadic) exchange. Dyadic interaction was halted when the adult turned away to look at an object. In a Joint Attention condition, the adult alternated visual attention between the infant and the object, and in a Look Away condition she…

In this article we take a close look at teachers' narratives in order to describe the practice of teaching as an embodied activity. Based on the phenomenological understanding of the body as an active and intentional reaching out from its physical existence, we listened to what Finnish and Israeli teachers' narratives tell us about the voices of…

This study investigated the social regulatory function of infant nondistress vocalization in modulating maternal response. Thirteen infants and their mothers were observed weekly in a face-to-face interaction situation from 4 to 24 weeks. After the occurrences and the speech quality of infant nondistress vocalization were identified, maternal…

Nonverbal communication--how we use our voices, breathing, bodies, and eyes--is as powerful as our words. As much as 82% of our message is conveyed through nonverbal strategies. Learning to use these cues can be key to improving our ability to facilitate or lead meetings.

The present study included observational and self-report measures to examine associations among parental stress, parental behaviour, child behaviour, and children's theory of mind and emotion understanding. Eighty-three parents and their 3- to 5-year-old children participated. Parents completed measures of parental stress, parenting (laxness,…

Since the 1920s, textbook critics have maintained that textbooks should offer a homogenous editorial approach, including an acknowledgment of a mix of author opinion and scholarly research. Several researchers indicated that some textbooks are not homogenous. The purpose of this quantitative content analysis study was to examine whether…