Extra-facial gestures in relation to speechreading

Abstract In a pilot study ( N = 32) it was found that extra-facial gestures, by themselves, elicited responses ranging from identical to similar but non-identical. It was hypothesized that the use of extra-facial gestures would influence the proficiency of speechreading. Twenty sentences based upon corresponding concepts of gestures used in the pilot study were presented to two groups of 16 subjects each. Each of the subject groups received alternate test items without gestures and with gestures. To minimize possible facial gestures a face-mask was worn by the speaker which allowed only his lips to be seen. Results indicated that for the 20 gestures employed in this study, there was a statistically significant increase in the proficiency of speechreading.