Research seminar: Susanne Fuchs, ZAS Berlin
Title: Does multimodal communication change when people stand on an unstable surface?
Seminar
Date:
Thursday 6 November 2025Time:
15.00 – 17.00Location:
C307, Södra huset
Abstract:
Humans maintain upright posture on a minimal base of support, relying on continuous postural control to stay balanced.
We propose that the evolution of higher-level postural control, driven by bipedalism, shaped multimodal communication, specifically the relation between speech and gesture.
To test this idea, we experimentally manipulated adults’ postural stability to assess how it affects multimodal communication in an interactive Taboo game.
Participants communicated with a partner while standing on solid ground or on a wobble board, increasing demands on their postural control during communication. Acoustic and motion analyses will be presented.
Last updated: 2025-11-03
Source: Department of Linguistics