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Exploring the relation between gesture presentation perspective and children’s spatial performance

ORCiD logo with link | Middle East Technical University | Istanbul University | Kadir Has University
ORCiD logo with link | Middle East Technical University | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Published online: 14 November 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.25016.ora
Abstract
The study investigated whether the perspective of multimodal input in visuospatial maps predicts children’s spatial performance, particularly verbal recall and direction-following behavior. 5-year-old monolingual Turkish children were engaged in the Directions Task, which included visuospatial maps and videos of a speaker describing routes on maps in three conditions: Speech-Gesture combination with a front-facing view, Speech-Gesture combination with an upper back angle, and Speech-only condition with a front-facing view for control. Children were asked to verbally recall and draw the route described in the videos. They also engaged in perspective-taking, mental rotation, and relational reasoning tasks. Results showed that children’s verbal recall, but not necessarily behavioral recall, was enhanced by receiving multimodal directions. Moreover, children’s relational reasoning and perspective-taking abilities modulate their verbal recall performances. The results of this study underline the importance of multimodal input and presentation perspective in enhancing children’s spatial performance.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • The present study
    • Predictions
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Measurements
      • Directions task
      • PTT-C (Perspective taking test for children)
        • Practice session
        • Test session
      • The Ghost Task
        • Practice session
        • Test session
      • RMTS (Relational Match to Sample)
    • Procedure
    • Coding
  • Results
    • Data analysis plan
    • Main analyses
  • Discussion
    • Multimodal descriptions enhance children’s verbal recall performance
    • Perspective-taking and relational reasoning abilities predict children’s verbal recall performance
    • Limitations and future directions
    • Practical implications
  • Conclusions
  • CRediT author statement
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (58)
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