Hand Preference in India

The degree of asymmetric handedness was measured by a 22-item hand preference questionnaire in a sample of 442 Indian subjects. Factor analysis of the data for right-handers yielded four item-clusters: Gross activities, skilled activities (general), skilled activities (specific), and activities subject to social pressure. Identical analysis for left-handers yielded three item-clusters: Activities that are executed with difficulty, with ease, and with greater frequency. The degree of asymmetric handedness in right-handers was positively (high) correlated with an index of social pressure against left-hand use, especially for the items, writing and eating. The correlation was negative (moderate) in left-handers, however, who had preferred the right hand for eating purposes.     

What the Eye Tells the Hand

The information flow necessary to coordinate hand movements with vision is summarized. A series of experiments was performed which quantitatively examined and confirmed the summary. In general, an information-theoretic approach was used. It was confirmed that the speed and accuracy of hand movements are in a reciprocal relationship. The accuracy of a movement is more sensitive to a loss of visual information than the pacing mechanism. Both speed and accuracy are sensitive to withdrawal of information to maintain posture. It is suggested that the retrieval of a movement pre-program is disturbed by afferent “noise.” The contribution of visual information to controlling standing posture, arm and shoulder movement, and wrist movement were investigated.     

No Association between Music Ability and Hand Preference in Children

Hand preference was studied in 2 groups of children—children with musical ability and children without musical ability—to examine whether particular markers that may connect with handedness patterns, such as bias away from dextrality or mixed-handedness, stabilize during childhood and are associated with musical ability. Children were administered the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory to determine levels of right, left, and mixed handedness. Results demonstrated no differences in hand preference between both cohorts of children, suggesting the relative independence of musical ability and handedness. However, the inclusion of handedness as a motor marker for musical ability in children in conjunction with other preexisting neurocognitive factors cannot be entirely discounted.     

Cultural Difference in Hand Preference: Evidence from India and Japan

Indian (N = 400) and Japanese (N = 502) adult subjects were examined for their hand preference on a 7-point scale (1 = left always, 7 = right always) of the 32-item Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire (Steenhuis & Bryden, 1989). Factor analyses of the data yielded a two-factorial structure of hand preference: skilled and unskilled. Interaction of Culture × Hand preference indicated that Indians had more right-hand preference for unskilled activities whereas Japanese subjects had more right-hand preference for skilled activities. Further analyses revealed that the frequency of middle category responses was more common in Japanese subjects. Indian subjects were found to give more extreme responses for either right- or left-hand preference. Findings are discussed in the light of cultural training given to the individuals in these two societies, which are essentially collective in nature.     

The Preference for Pointing With the Hand Is Not Universal

Pointing is a cornerstone of human communication, but does it take the same form in all cultures? Manual pointing with the index finger appears to be used universally, and it is often assumed to be universally preferred over other forms. Non‐manual pointing with the head and face has also been widely attested, but it is usually considered of marginal significance, both empirically and theoretically. Here, we challenge this assumed marginality. Using a novel communication task, we investigated pointing preferences in the Yupno of Papua New Guinea and in U.S. undergraduates. Speakers in both groups pointed at similar rates, but form preferences differed starkly: The Yupno participants used non‐manual pointing (nose‐ and head‐pointing) numerically more often than manual pointing, whereas the U.S. participants stuck unwaveringly to index‐finger pointing. The findings raise questions about why groups differ in their pointing preferences and, more broadly, about why humans communicate in the ways they do.     

A classification of handedness using the Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire

The Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire (AHPQ) was administered to a sample of 352 randomly selected individuals from the general community to examine the reproducibility of its handedness classification and to evaluate its model‐based reliability and convergent validity. Latent class analysis showed that the eight categories of hand preferences could not be justified on statistical grounds. Instead, three broad handedness classes adequately accommodated the variety of handedness patterns: ‘consistent right’ (66.0%), ‘consistent left’ (9.8%) and ‘inconsistent or mixed’ (24.2%). Confirmatory factor analysis not only showed that the AHPQ is reliable and has solid convergent validity, but also the measurement properties of the AHPQ could be further improved by eliminating a few items from the scale. The implications of these findings are discussed, and it is suggested that questionnaire requires modification, possibly by replacing obsolete items such as ‘sweeping’ and ‘shovelling’ with modern manual activities, such as ‘typing SMS messages’ and ‘using a remote control’.     

Group Preference and Convergent Tendencies in Small Groups: A Content Analysis of Group Brainstorming Performance

This study examined the impact of preference for working in groups on interaction during a brainstorming session. Groups of 4 people were composed based on their individual group preference scores (i.e., high or low preference for working in groups). These groups worked as 4 independent individuals (nominal participants) or as an interactive group of 4. It was hypothesized that convergent tendencies promoted in interactive settings would hinder group brainstorming performance and that high group preference would enhance these convergent tendencies. These predictions were generally supported by the findings.     

Cerebral Asymmetry and Reading Performance: Effect of Language Lateralization and Hand Preference

Abstract

We propose an alternative approach aimed at relating cerebral asymmetry to reading ability: the joint consideration of language lateralization and hand preference. Specifically, we studied whether children with dominance for language and control of the preferred hand lateralized to the same hemisphere (convergent cerebral organization) were better readers than were children with these processes lateralized to different hemispheres (nonconvergent organization). Eighty children, selected on the basis of the combination of these factors, were assessed using a set of reading tasks. The main finding was that subjects with convergent cerebral organization were superior in reading speed, reading accuracy, and reading comprehension.     

Postural Stability and Hand Preference as Constraints on One-Handed Catching Performance in Children

Effects of postural state and hand preference as constraints on 1-handed catching performance were investigated in different ability groups of children aged 9-10 years. On the basis of pretest data, the authors classified 48 participants into groups of good, intermediate, and poor catchers (n = 16 in each) and asked them to perform 1-handed catches with their preferred and nonpreferred hands while standing and sitting. The good catchers' performance was not affected by the imposed postural constraints but did improve when they used the preferred hand. A similar effect of hand preference was evident in the intermediate and poor catchers, but there was also an effect of postural constraint. Independent of hand preference, intermediate catchers' performance while seated improved significantly compared with that during standing. For poor catchers, there was an interaction between hand preference and posture; significant improvement was evident only when they used the preferred hand in the sitting condition. The finding that manipulation of posture and hand preference affected performance outcomes indicates that perceptual skill is not the only influence on catching performance in children. Manipulation of those key constraints may facilitate the acquisition of catching skill, but more research is needed to determine the permanence of those effects.     

Alternating Adaptation of Eye and Hand Movements to Opposite Directed Double Steps

Eye and hand movements can adapt to a variety of sensorimotor discordances. Studies on adaptation of movement directions suggest that the oculomotor and the hand motor system access the same adaptive mechanism related to the polarity of a discordance, because concurrent adaptations to opposite directed discordances strongly interfere. The authors scrutinized whether participants adapt their hand and eye movements to opposite directions (clockwise/counterclockwise) when both motor systems are alternatingly exposed to opposite directed double steps, and whether such adaptation is influenced by the allocation of effector to adaptation direction. The results showed that hand and eye movements adapted to opposite directions, but adaptation was biased to the counterclockwise direction. Aftereffects emerged nearly unbiased and independently for both motor systems. The authors conclude that the oculomotor and the hand motor system use independent mechanisms when they adapt to opposite polarities, although they interact during adaptation or concurrent performance.     

成人与幼儿面部表情注意偏好的眼动研究

本研究选取45名3-5岁幼儿和39名大学本科生作为被试。实验材料为恐惧、愤怒、悲伤、惊讶和高兴五种面部表情图片。用Tobbi眼动仪记录被试观察表情图片时的眼动轨迹。结果发现：（1）成人偏好高兴表情,并在高兴表情上的注视时间和次数显著大于幼儿;（2）成人偏好注视眼部,幼儿偏好注视嘴部。结果表明,面部表情注意偏好的发展具有社会依存性,趋向于偏好积极情绪,这种发展变化与面部表情部位的注意偏好相关。     

Combining Action Observation and Motor Imagery Improves Eye–Hand Coordination during Novel Visuomotor Task Performance

Abstract

In this study, we compared the effectiveness of concurrent action observation and motor imagery (AO?+?MI), observing with the intent to imitate (active observation; AO), and passive observation (PO) training interventions for improving eye–hand coordination. Fifty participants were assigned to five groups [AO?+?MI, AO, PO, physical practice (PP); control] and performed a visuomotor rotation task, whilst eye movements were recorded. Each participant then performed 20 task trials in a training intervention before repeating the visuomotor rotation task in a post-test. As expected, PP produced the greatest improvement in task performance and eye–hand coordination. However, in comparison to the control group, AO?+?MI training produced a statistically significant increase in both task performance and eye–hand coordination, but no such improvements were found following AO or PO.     

Cerebral Organization of Motor Programming and Verbal Processing as a Function of Degree of Hand Preference and Familial Sinistrality

Seventy-six right- and left-handed subjects responded to monaurally presented verbal stimuli (CVs) using their right and left hands on separate occasions. Both degree of hand preference and familial sinistrality (FS) were taken into account. It was found that, contrary to expectation, the manual response interfered with the verbal perception task, but only in the consistent strong handers. The pattern of interference suggests that those with a consistent hand preference (right or left) have general motor programming in the left hemisphere. Those with an inconsistent strong hand preference probably have some degree of general motor programming in both hemispheres. No effect for FS was found for the lateralization of verbal processing or general motor programming.     

Birth Order Position and Prosocial Tendencies

This study investigated the relationship between psychological birth order position and different types and levels of prosocial tendencies. An ex postfacto, between-family research design was used. Data on prosocial tendencies were obtained from 888 college students (females = 80.4%, mean age = 20.94 yrs, SD = 2.83; males = 19.6%, mean age = 21.62 yrs, SD = 2.44). Participants completed a biographical questionnaire as well as the Prosocial Tendencies Measure (Carlo & Randall, 2002). Data were analysed to compare and contrast prosocial tendencies between demographics using parametric ANOVAs, t tests and the Mann-Whitney Test. Significant differences in prosocial tendency scores were only found between middle-borns and last-borns on altruism, with middle-borns scoring significantly higher in prosocial tendencies than last-borns. There is no evidence to suggest that a definitive link between prosocial tendencies and birth order exists in this study.     

Powers,Probabilities, and Tendencies

Philosophia - In this article, I aim at showing how powers may ground different types of probability in the universe. In Section 1 I single out several dimensions along which the probability of...     

Helping-Relationship Response Tendencies and Occupational Affiliation

An adaptation of Porter's Counseling Procedures Pre-test was administered to members of various occupational groups to explore the question, Do counselors as a group exhibit the same helping-relationship response tendencies as members of other occupational groups? Data were gathered on 370 persons in several occupations—guidance institute enrollees, counseling practicum enrollees, on-the-job school counselors in two states, ministers, nursing instructors, firemen, housewives, secretaries, undergraduate students, and lawyers. Many differences were found. Counselors were characterized by a preference for understanding responses and a tendency to reject the evaluative response mode; members of other groups showed the reverse preference.     

Not Simply in the Eye of the Beholder: Authenticity as a Product of Candidate Preference and Unfettered Speech

Authenticity has emerged over recent decades as a prominent theme in both the press and in political research—and peaked in the 2016 presidential contest that pitted Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. In this context, we attempted to answer the question: How do voters judge a presidential candidate's authenticity? Here we use motivated reasoning and correspondent inference theory as theoretical frameworks to examine how partisan preference combines with perceptions of unfettered speech and strategic impression management to influence voter judgments of a candidate's authenticity. An online survey of 525 respondents demonstrated that individuals' partisan preferences influenced both judgments of a candidate's authenticity and their perceptions of behaviors signifying authenticity (use of unfettered speech versus strategic impression management). These behavioral signals partially mediated the relation between candidate preferences and authenticity judgments. Moreover, voters, given their partisan preferences, differentially weighted candidates' use of unfettered speech and strategic impression management tactics in their judgments of authenticity. Finally, unfiltered/politically incorrect speech was found to have both positive and negative effects on authenticity judgments. Findings further elucidate the nature of authenticity as perceived in others and identify intermediary variables and boundary conditions that influence those perceptions.     

Dissociative Tendencies, Attention, and Memory

Two groups of college students were selected on the basis of their scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). The high-DES group (score > 20, M = 29.6; n = 54) and low-DES group (score < 10, M = 5.1; n = 54) both completed the standard and a new dual-task version of the Stroop ink-naming task with xs (baseline condition) and color, neutral, and emotionally charged words. Free recall results indicated that high-DES participants remembered fewer emotionally charged words than low-DES participants. We found a crossover interaction for Stroop interference: High-DES participants showed more interference (conflicting color — baseline latency for ink naming) in a selective-attention Stroop task and less interference in the dual-task Stroop task. The interaction between attentional context and dissociation for Stroop interference and the free recall results are consistent with a cognitive-environments view of dissociative tendencies. In this view, dissociative tendencies, which have been otherwise speculated to be largely deleterious, can be advantageous in certain contexts.