Difference Between Left & Right Handed People

After categorizing themselves by gender, one of the first ways children seem to group themselves is by their handedness--it is quickly understood that the right-handed children are more numerous and the left-handed children always have ink on their hands. However, it would seem that handedness contributes to more than just smeared handwriting.

Statistics

According to "Scientific American," approximately 15 percent of all individuals are left-handed. A study released in 2002 by Chris McManus of University College in London found that 13 percent of British men are left-handed as opposed to only 10 percent of British women. These statistics are much higher than those in the early 1900s when left-handed people were socially shunned, making up only 3 percent of the British population. Researchers have proposed that handedness is genetic rather than environmentally determined.

Mental Differences

Researchers at Australian National University in 2006 posited that left-handed individuals possess better connections between their brain hemispheres, thereby increasing the exchange of information. Test subjects were evaluated for reaction speed using video monitors and flashing lights, and the results concluded that left-handed people think slightly faster than their right-handed counterparts. The differences were mild, but this does lend credence to mental discrepancies resulting from handedness.

Psychosocial Differences

Jennifer Fisher of Wichita State University performed a study in 2006 on the effect of handedness on psychosocial perception. A left-handed person, herself, Fisher hypothesized that left-handed children would have lower self-concept scores, higher anxiety levels and use a more external locus of control. The study showed that, while handedness did not seem to have an effect on locus of control or anxiety, the left-handed children had significantly higher self-concept scores. This may be a result of the cultural movement toward tolerance and embracing diversity.

Psychological Differences

The study by McManus also showed that left-handed individuals might be more susceptible to learning handicaps, including child autism, stuttering and dyslexia. Other studies on the psychological effects of handedness have not concluded in any concrete results.

Ambidexterity

Those who are ambidextrous are able to use both hands with equal mastery. While many people attempt to train themselves to be ambidextrous, true ambidexterity is rare. As useful as the ability may be, British psychiatrist Tim Crow believes that ambidextrous individuals may have slight mental handicaps. His reasoning is that humanity's closest cousins, chimpanzees, are ambidextrous, which may mean that Homo sapiens adapted right- or left-handedness over the course of evolution. Therefore, Crow posits, ambidexterity may be an evolutionary step backwards.

References

• Anything Left Handed: Research Into Left-Handedness And Its Effects
• Softpedia: Left-handed People Think Faster than Right-handed People
• Wichita State University: Psychosocial Differences Between Left-handed and Right-Handed Children; Jennifer Fisher
• Scientific American: What Causes Some People To Be Left-Handed