Hand gesture study

Hand gestures can change how a speaker's message is received. An open-palm gesture might be seen as inviting and honest, whereas pointing can feel aggressive. Minimal gesturing might make a speaker seem dull or untrustworthy.

Researchers wanted to investigate how different rates of hand gesturing affect perceived speaker credibility. They recruited 420 visitors to a local history museum, with an age range of 18–75 years old, including 200 male and 220 female participants.

The researchers asked participants to watch a series of video clips of a speaker presenting a neutral news report. Across the clips, the frequency of hand gestures was manipulated to range from 0 (no gestures), 5, 10, to 20 gestures per minute. Throughout the study, the researchers used six different actors, who were all wearing identical neutral clothing, with half of them male and half female. Each participant only saw a single actor who was of the same sex as themselves. After watching each video clip, the participant rated the speaker's credibility on a scale from 1 (not at all credible) to 10 (extremely credible).