New research published in Live Science [1] claimed that the humans have been predominantly right-handed for over 500,000 years, however, left-handed people make up 10 percent of the population, undoubtedly making them the odd ones out.

There has been lots of research into why some people prefer to use their left hand rather than their right and alongside some brain evidence showing differences between the two, some evidence also shows it comes down to a complex collaboration between the social environment and inherited genes.

1. Left-Handed People Are More Likely to Get Angry

A paper [2] has been published to say that whether you’re left-handed, right-handed or ambidextrous can be a hint as to how your brain processes emotions.

In the field, it’s been known for a while that left-handed people are more prone to negative emotions and the study shows that they have a greater imbalance in activity when processing emotions in the left and right sides of the brain.

2. Being Left-Handed Can Determine Health Factors

A study published in Pediatrics in 2010 discussed how being left-handed is linked to an increased risk for dyslexia, ADHD, and some mood disorders.

Whilst research hasn’t yet been done to explain why this is the way it is, experts suggest it’s down to the brain’s structure and whether or not the individual has one dominant half of their brain.

Around 30% of left-handed people don’t have one dominant half of their brain and this is more likely to result in learning difficulties and brain disorders.

3. Left Equals Good

Left-handed people associate ‘left’ as being a good thing, since they use their left-hand dominantly for activities and since they can’t do as much with their right hand, they associate this as ‘bad.’

A recent study[3] carried out by Daniel Casasanto, a Stanford researcher, asked participants to draw a zebra in the box that represented good things and a panda in the box that represented bad things.

Left-handed people were more likely to put the panda in the right-hand box and the zebra in the left-hand box, showing their association with bad being things on the right.

4. They’re More Creative

The American Journal of Psychology published an article in which it was explained that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people when it comes to certain creative tasks.

Divergent thinking, for example, is one area left-handed people excel in when compared to right-handed people. In addition, the Left-Hander’s club [4] carried out a survey that found that left-handed people were more likely to follow careers in the arts, music, sports, and information technology – proving that the dominant left-hand is the more creative.

Plenty of studies delve into this area and it’s fascinating to see how something as simple as the hand you write with can influence personality, emotion, and even career, and picking up little facts from each study is interesting too. Are you left-handed or right-handed?

References

  1.  http://www.livescience.com
  2.  http://journals.lww.com
  3.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. http://www.left-handersday.com

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This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. Haki Vihar

    I read somewhere that left-handed people are more likely to be genius and also to die earlier than right-handed people.

  2. David

    Nice one! I made a research about laterality in uni, and people can be left or right not only on their hands, but also on eyes, ears, and feet (obviously). Check which eye you would look through a telescope, or which ear you use to listen to a low volume sound.

    I also read that lefties aren’t actually more likely to die earlier, it’s just a myth. I am left-handed, and it’s true I usually associate left with good, but usually unconsciously (I try to reason afterwards). :p

  3. brenda

    has any research been done on those of us that were left handed for the first 6 yrs of our lives only to be forced to use our right hand upon entering the school system?

    1. Jayson

      They tried that with me I just wrote everything backwards. Lol so I’m a dyslexic left-handed adhd champion. Lol

  4. Grete-Loviis

    im lefthanded and i must say, all the four points are true for me.

  5. Michael Heavey

    Interesting… but what about people like me, who were born left-hand but forced to right-handed from the age of four, at Junior school?… The ‘Panda-Zebra’ – ‘Left equals good – exercise, e.g., would result in me putting both in both boxes, as I don’t consider one hand superior to the other… I use both hands regularly, e.g. when I worked with two computers on my desk I would operate one with my right hand & the other with my left, both for ‘mouse’ operation & typing… I also pick up a drink in cup/mug/glass with either hand depending on which is closer… I don’t consider myself to get angrier that that anyone else, though I am often accused of making others angry by ‘winding them up’, partly for fun & partly to ensure I win an argument, which I always saw as business acumen… I conclude that the conclusions above are too simplistic & assume they are an over-simplified précis of a larger study… which begs the question:- Does the complete study include my ‘condition’ of being a ‘partially converted left-hander’?… Would love to hear back… thank, Michael Heavey – or Gwaymoaw P. G-Pi on ‘Facebook’ […perhaps my left hand psychologically has a different name – ha!…]

  6. Mohammad

    Hello Christina
    The information in the artical are usefull for the left-handed people and I am one of them, I need to know more .
    I want someone who is experienced in learning the minds .and I have alot of facts and information I want to share with you.
    I live Damascuse Syria (the world black hole)
    I am 33 years old
    Thank you and i hope to read from you
    Moe

  7. mike

    have they studied what happens when a student who is naturally left handed is forced to learn to be right handed , i know they no longer allow this in our school systems , but what about those who had this happen before it was stopped. does this create learning disabilities or change the way a person would naturally do things ?

  8. Angelique

    I am left handed when writing but if I am using a laptop or desktop I have to use my right hand to navigate the mouse because using my left feels weird…I also drive mainly with my right. I wonder why that is…..

  9. Azima

    I know someone who is left-handed but she’s emotionally mature at such a young age. She is also very athletic. In fact, she is a volleyball athlete in one of the finest universities here. And, she is highly creative. She has been getting a lot of art awards in school. I think we just have to really respect their reverence for left as a being good. That’s just the way it is. I think left-handed people are gifted in such unique ways.

  10. Chetyre

    I am left-handed myself yet I am not creative, my moods are no different from anyone else nor do I associate left or right with being good or bad. In short I m nothing special at all.

    Also I am not hindered in my daily activities because of being left-handed. Can drive, use scissors and use the mouse using my right hand with absolutely no problems. Perhaps this idea that if one is left-handed that it must follow that you are totally incapacitated when it comes to doing things with the right hand is more in the head than reality.

    Interesting article but I just have much reservation when it comes to this particular idea.

  11. lee

    I am also a left handed person. I was born a genius that much I know the issue of the hand l use is something that is innate , it is the way one was created by the creator. life is from GOD no one can determine the life span of the left handed people.

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