Question 1

Gestures are used because they primarily benefit the communicator doing the gesturing.

Accepted Answer

Gestures are used to enhance communication and convey meaning, not just for the benefit of the communicator. Gestures can also help listeners understand the message more clearly and establish rapport between communicators.

Question 2

Paul and Rick are hiking.Paul stubs his foot on a hidden tree root.While Paul jumps around,Rick is also wincing in pain.Which phenomenon explains why Rick would wince when Paul is the one who got hurt?

Accepted Answer

Motor mimicry is the phenomenon where individuals unconsciously imitate the emotional and physical expressions of others. In this situation, Rick wincing in pain after seeing Paul get hurt can be explained by motor mimicry.

Question 3

What speech difficulties have been observed in speakers unable to include gestures?

Accepted Answer

Gestures play a crucial role in communication, not only in conveying non-verbal information but also in supporting the speaker's verbal expression. When speakers are unable to include gestures, they may experience fluency problems, as gestures help to pace and structure speech; word recall problems, since gestures can aid in retrieving words from memory; and comprehension problems, because gestures can enhance the listener's understanding of the speech. Therefore, the absence of gestures can negatively impact all these aspects of speech.

Question 4

The findings of Pine and his colleagues (2010)would lead you to believe that you would gesture more when describing scissors than a rug to a person who you could not see.

Accepted Answer

Pine and his colleagues (2010) found that people gesture more when describing objects that have a clear shape or action associated with them, such as scissors, compared to objects that do not, such as a rug. Therefore, it can be inferred that people would gesture more when describing scissors to someone they cannot see compared to describing a rug to the same person.

Question 5

Mary is a person who typically makes an average amount of gestures while talking.Under which of the following situations is Mary likely to make more speech-related gestures than usual?

Accepted Answer

When Mary is trying to dominate a conversation, she is likely to make more speech-related gestures than usual to emphasize her points and assert her dominance. The other options, such as speaking over an intercom or microphone or not being concerned about listener comprehension, may not necessarily lead to an increase in gestures.

Question 6

According to the research by Bavelas and her colleagues,which of the following is not one of the primary functions of interactive gestures?

Accepted Answer

Interactive gestures primarily serve to manage conversational flow and convey information. Synchronizing movement between partners is not listed as a primary function of these gestures in Bavelas's research.

Question 7

Only those movements people perform with their hands can be called gestures.

Accepted Answer

Gestures can also include movements or expressions made with other parts of the body such as the face, arms, and legs.

Question 8

Which of the following is not true about our use of emblems?

Accepted Answer

Emblems are gestures that have a direct verbal translation and are understood within a cultural group without the need for speech. This means they do not depend on included speech for their meaning to be fully understood, as their meanings are already clear and recognized within the cultural context.

Question 9

Which class of gestures has a direct verbal translation?

Accepted Answer

Speech-independent gestures have a direct verbal translation and can be understood without accompanying speech.

Question 10

The speaker's gestures tend to be smaller and less precise when relaying information that the receiver is unfamiliar with.

Accepted Answer

The speaker's gestures tend to be larger and more precise when relaying information that the receiver is unfamiliar with, as a way to enhance understanding and communication.

Question 11

A system for identifying speech-independent gestures,developed by Johnson,Ekman,and Friesen,considers that an emblem is "verified" when 70 percent of the people asked to perform a gesture do so in a similar way.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately describes the system developed by Johnson, Ekman, and Friesen for identifying speech-independent gestures. An emblem is considered "verified" when 70 percent of individuals asked to perform a gesture do so in a similar way.

Question 12

In a conversation with a friend,Lionel makes a gesture which seems to accent and organize the important segments of his talk.Which type of speech-dependent gesture is Lionel making in this instance?

Accepted Answer

Lionel is using a punctuation gesture, which is used to emphasize and organize important segments of speech.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about the relationship between gesture and speech is false?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that gesture and speech are closely linked and likely controlled by overlapping neural networks in the brain, rather than completely different areas.

Question 14

Nancy and Oliver are having a conversation.During their talk,they engage in matching behaviors,to indicate that they have interaction synchrony.Which of the following is/are ways that they could "match" during their conversation?

Accepted Answer

All of the actions listed (turning toward each other, leaning forward/backward, crossing legs/arms) show a form of matching behavior and can indicate interaction synchrony.

Question 15

Meshing impacts how satisfying the conversation exchange is viewed by the speakers.

Accepted Answer

Meshing means finding common ground or shared interests between speakers. When meshing occurs, it results in a more enjoyable conversation that is viewed as satisfying by both speakers. Therefore, meshing impacts how satisfying the conversation exchange is viewed by the speakers.

Question 16

The smallest idea unit in spoken language is referred to as a __________.

Accepted Answer

The smallest idea unit in spoken language is referred to as a phoneme, which is the smallest distinctive sound unit in a language. Phonemic markers are used to distinguish between different phonemes in a language. Posture shift, kinesic marker, and topic change posture are not relevant to the smallest idea unit in spoken language.

Quiz 7: The Effects of Gesture and Posture on Human Communication