18th January 2012

Deaf people fast to spot body gestures

Deaf people, who use sign language,  recognise and interpret body language faster than hearing people who do not sign, according to new research.

University of California researchers compared the response times of Deaf and hearing people by showing them videos of American Sign Language or other 'non-language' physical gestures such as stroking their chin.

Professor David Corina, a leading researcher, said: "there are a lot of anecdotes about Deaf people being better able to pick up on body language, but this is the first evidence of that."

A significant finding was that Deaf people are faster at recognising non-language gestures than hearing people.  The research also suggests that Deaf people may be more adept at spotting subtle body language in the physical actions of others.

The full findings will be published soon in a science journal, Cognition.

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