Substantial individual variation exists in the frequency of gestures produced while speaking. This study investigated the associations between cognitive abilities, empathy levels, and personality traits with the frequency of representational gestures. A cartoon narration task and a social dilemma solving task were used to elicit gestures. Predictor variables were selected based on prior research on individual differences in gesture production and the cognitive and communicative functions of gestures in speech. Our findings revealed that an increased frequency of representational gestures was associated with higher empathy levels in the cartoon narration task. However, in the social dilemma solving task, a higher frequency of representational gestures was associated with lower visuospatial working memory, spatial transformation, and inhibition control abilities. Moreover, no significant relationships were found between verbal working memory, personality traits, and the frequency of representational gestures in either task. These findings suggested that predictor variables for representational gesture production vary depending on the nature of the gesture elicitation task (e.g., spatiomotoric vs. abstract topics). Future research should examine the relationship between individuals’ cognitive abilities, empathy and gesture production with across a broader range of topics and in more ecologically valid contexts.

中文翻译：

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EXPRESS：表征性手势产生的个体差异与认知和同理心技能有关

说话时做出手势的频率存在很大的个体差异。这项研究调查了认知能力、同理心水平和人格特质与代表性手势频率之间的关联。使用卡通叙述任务和解决社会困境任务来引发手势。预测变量的选择基于先前对手势产生的个体差异以及言语中手势的认知和交流功能的研究。我们的研究结果表明，在卡通叙述任务中，代表性手势频率的增加与更高的同理心水平相关。然而，在解决社会困境任务中，较高频率的表征手势与较低的视觉空间工作记忆、空间转换和抑制控制能力相关。此外，在这两项任务中，言语工作记忆、人格特质和代表性手势的频率之间没有发现显着的关系。这些发现表明，代表性手势产生的预测变量根据手势引发任务的性质（例如，空间运动与抽象主题）而变化。未来的研究应该在更广泛的主题和更有效的生态背景下研究个人的认知能力、同理心和手势产生之间的关系。