Language and hand: The dimension of referential competence1

Kinesic and verbal performance data were collected for two groups of women college seniors chosen to represent extremes in a type of verbal ability termed here referential competence. This ability is conceptualized in terms of degree of integration of symbolic and ikonic representation systems, i.e., the strength of the symbol-referent links in semantic memory. A criterion measure of referential competence was developed using deviation of color naming from word-reading times on the Stroop Color-Word test. Referential competence was shown to be statistically as well as conceptually unrelated to both the standard verbal intelligence and fluency measures, and to cognitive style. During a five-minute videotaped monologue about a personal experience, persons high in referential competence produced verbal material which was specific, vivid, and objective; in contrast to the subjective and general material of the low referential group; and also produced approximately three times as many object-focused hand movements, linked to rhythm and intonation patterns of speech but largely without decipherable content. The results suggest that motor schema have a continuing intrinsic role in mature speech production, related to structure rather than content of language.