Researcher:
Akhavan, Niloofar

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Master Student

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Niloofar

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Akhavan

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Akhavan, Niloofar

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2015 - 20184

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Disfluency production in speech and gesture
    (The Cognitive Science Society, 2016) Nozari, Nazbanou Bonnie; N/A; Department of Psychology; Akhavan, Niloofar; Göksun, Tilbe; Master Student; Faculty Member; Department of Psychology; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; N/A; 47278
    The cognitive architecture and function of co-speech gesture has been the subject of a large body of research. We investigate two main questions in this field, namely, whether language and gesture are the same or two inter-related systems, and whether gestures help resolve speech problems, by examining the relationship between gesture and disfluency in neurotypical speakers. Our results support the view of separate, but interrelated systems by showing that speech problems do not necessarily cause gesture problems, and on many occasions, gestures signal an upcoming speech problem even before it surfaces in overt speech. We also show that while gestures are more common on fluent trials, speakers use both iconic and beat gestures on disfluent trials to facilitate communication, although the two gesture types support communication in different ways.
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    Motion event expressions in language and gesture: evidence from Persian
    (The Cognitive Science Society, 2015) Nozari, Nazbanou Bonnie; Department of Psychology; Göksun, Tilbe; Akhavan, Niloofar; Faculty Member; Master Student; Department of Psychology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; 47278; N/A
    How do people conceptualize motion events and talk about them? The current study examines how gestural representations of motion events arise from linguistic expressions in Persian, which has characteristics of both Talmy's satellite- and verb-framed languages. We examined native Persian speakers' speech and gestures in describing 20 motion events. We focused on two motion event components: path (trajectory of motion like up) and manner (how the action is performed like jumping). Results indicated that when expressing motion, Persian speakers produced path in both speech and gesture, whereas manner was conveyed only through speech (mostly as adverbs). Additionally, dynamic gestures tended to occur in the same order they were uttered. The difference between path and manner findings asks for further research to examine language-gesture interaction in detail among different languages. Results also suggest refinement in gesture theories that argue for one-to-one correspondence between speech and gesture. © Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2015.All rights reserved.
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    Expression of motion events in Farsi
    (Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2017) Nozari, Nazbanou; N/A; Department of Psychology; Akhavan, Niloofar; Göksun, Tilbe; Master Student; Faculty Member; Department of Psychology; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; N/A; 47278
    The current study examines how gestural representations of motion events arise from linguistic expressions in Farsi, as this language offers many unique characteristics; exhibiting characteristics of both Talmy's satellite- and verb-framed languages. We examined native Farsi speakers' speech and gestures in describing 20 motion events. We focused on two motion event components: path (trajectory of motion like up) and manner (how the action is performed like jumping). Analyses of syntactic packaging and clause-level correspondence between speech and gesture, as well as parallel ordering of speech and gesture sequences were, for the most part, in support of models that posit a close correspondence between speech-gesture production. However, while Farsi speakers described both path and manner in their speech, gesture was markedly impoverished for manner, suggesting constraints on the one-to-one mapping between linguistic and gestural expressions.
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    Integrity and function of gestures in aphasia
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Nozari, Nazbanou; N/A; Department of Psychology; Akhavan, Niloofar; Göksun, Tilbe; Master Student; Faculty Member; Department of Psychology; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; N/A; 47278
    Background: Gestures can provide an excellent natural alternative to verbal communication in people with aphasia (PWA). However, despite numerous studies focusing on gesture production in aphasia, it is still a matter of debate whether the gesture system remains intact after language impairment and how PWA use gestures to improve communication. A likely source for the contradicting results is that many studies were conducted on individual cases or in heterogeneous groups of individuals with additional cognitive deficits such as conceptual impairment and comorbid conditions such as limb apraxia.Aims: The goal of the current study was to evaluate the integrity and function of gestures in PWA in light of cognitive theories of language-gesture relationship. Since all such theories presuppose the integrity of the conceptual system, and the absence of comorbid conditions that selectively impair gesturing (i.e., limb apraxia), our sample was selected to fulfill these assumptions.Methods & Procedures: We examined gesture production in eight PWA with preserved auditory comprehension, no comorbidities, and various degrees of expressive deficit, as well as 11 age- and education-matched controls, while they described events in 20 normed video clips. Both speech and gesture data were coded for quantitative measures of informativeness, and gestures were grouped into several functional categories (matching, complementary, compensatory, social cueing, and facilitating lexical retrieval) based on correspondence to the accompanying speech. Using rigorous group analyses, individual-case analyses, and analyses of individual differences, we provide converging evidence for the integrity and type of function(s) served by gesturing in PWA.Outcomes & Results: Our results indicate that the gesture system can remain functional even when language production is severely impaired. Our PWA heavily relied on iconic gestures to compensate for their language impairment, and the degree of such compensation was correlated with the extent of language impairment. In addition, we found evidence that producing iconic gestures was related to higher success rates in resolving lexical retrieval difficulties.Conclusions: When comprehension and comorbidities are controlled for, impairment of language and gesture systems is dissociable. In PWA with good comprehension, gesturing can provide an excellent means to both compensate for the impaired language and act as a retrieval cue. Implications for cognitive theories of language-gesture relationship and therapy are discussed.