More competitive lefties, why they endure evolution with less performance anxiety
They represent only 10% of the population, but it is precisely this predisposition to competition that explains the persistence of left-handedness throughout human history: D'Annunzio University's work published in Scientific Reports
They suffer less from performance anxiety, much less, and measure themselves on the competitive terrain with a good deal of confidence. These are left-handed people, whose character and behavioural characteristics have been studied by researchers at the Department of Psychology of the University 'D'Annunzio' Chieti-Pescara and correlated with right-handed people.
They make up only 10 per cent of the population, but it is precisely this predisposition to competition that would explain their 'resistance', i.e. the persistence of left-handedness throughout the evolution of the species, which manifests itself in a low but stable percentage.
The Studio
The study was developed in several stages, starting with information from over a thousand people who had filled out online questionnaires investigating hand preference, psychological motivations and other personality traits. Subsequently, the answers were used to calculate the so-called laterality quotient (LQ), an index used to measure the dominance of one hand over the other.
Based on the answers, the team then selected 483 strongly right-handed and 50 strongly left-handed individuals to submit them to a second set of questionnaires: the aim was to assess their level of competitiveness, anxiety or depression, and to see whether preference for the dominant hand was linked to a specific personality type.
The 9 Peg Test
From this group, 24 left-handers and 24 right-handers were then invited to the lab to complete a task called the '9 Peg Test', which consists of placing nine small pegs in a board as fast as possible using only one hand. Left-handers scored higher on the hyper-competitiveness and were less likely than right-handers to shy away from competition due to anxiety. In contrast, no significant correlation was found between hand preference and physical dexterity. In the task with the perforated tablet, 11 of the 24 right-handers were faster, suggesting that the drive to compete is in the mind, not the result of any particular physical ability.
