Experiment

Click on examples below to play (or download) each AVI video file (1.8 Mb) of an animated character saying the sentence:

                    "put the book there now"

Watch each animation three times (not more!). Try to mix the order of viewing up (i.e., randomize the conditions).

Print out this page or indicate otherwise your answers to the following two questions by circling the appropriate word and number:

1)      Which word is the intended focus of the sentence" That is:

                   Which word is being emphasized"

                   -circle a word: "PUT", "THE", "BOOK", "THERE", or "NOW"


2)      Do you think the focus of the sentence was emphasised clearly" 

                   -indicate your level of agreement with the statement:

                   The focus of the sentence was emphasised clearly.

                   -circle a number:    
                                                1 = strongly agree
                                                2 = agree
                                                3 = neither agree nor disagree
                                                4 = disagree
                                                5 = strongly disagree

 

Instructions for downloading:

Download the AVI video files to a Folder on your hard drive and play them using Windows Media Player. If instead you have your web browser set to play files automatically when you click on a link, the graphics might not display (thanks Bill Gates and co!).

Check: go to the Options section of your browser and ensure that downloaded AVI video files are saved to a folder; do not have a program automatically play them.

When downloaded, go to the folder and click on the file. It may open automatically with Windows Media Player and play properly. If it does not, right click the AVI file and choose Media Player as the program to view the file.


Other programs that should play these AVIs correctly include: Real Player and Intervideo WinDVD (often bundled with Windows XP); to play, right click, and so on.

 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now"

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex1
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex2
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex3
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex4

 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex5
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex6

 
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex7
 

Word perceived:

"put"  "the"  "book" "there"  "now""

Clarity rating:

1  2  3  4  5

Ex8
 

 

Background

After trying the examples, check to see where the hand gesture was synchronized (i.e., which word was nearest the gesture) for each of examples 1 through 8:

Examples used in the experiment.

Based on Gestures and Phases: The Dynamics of Speech-Hand Coordination by Paul Treffner, Mira Peter, & Mark Kleidon (2008). Ecological Psychology, 20, pp. xx - xx.  

Copyright

Dr. Paul Treffner
L84sky@gmail.com