HANDEDNESS

by:

JEFFREY GOODELL

&

JENNIFER DAVIES

Psychology 110; 10:00a.m. 12/7/99


Our project started out with the understanding that no two brain are the same. After some research, we confirmed our beliefs. Scientists say that the left hemisphere ~ the left side of the brain ~ controls the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere - the right (and most creative) side of the brain-controls the left side of the body. Typically, the dominant hand is on the opposite side of the body as the dominant hemisphere. Right handed people tend to have a dominant left hemisphere, and left handed people tend to have a dominant fight hemisphere. We learned that the only exception is in left handed people who have what is called a "left-handed hook," meaning that they curve their arm around so that their pen is at an angle similar to that of a right handed person. Although these people tend to have a dominant left hemisphere, none of the people in our study had a "left-handed hook," so we didn't have to incorporate that variable into our study.

-- comment: good example of describing their thought process, even though it didnít seem to apply to their project. It shows the effort that went into researching the topic.

Our hypothesis was that people who predominantly use their right hemisphere (left handed or ambidextrous people) are more creative than those who predominantly use their left hemisphere (those that are right handed). Understanding the different processes of each hemisphere was something that helped us reach this hypothesis. The left hemisphere is the more narrowed part of the brain. It's used to process difficult forms of mathematics, to remember sequences, to understand different parts of speech, it directs movement of the right side of the body, and processed sensory input from the right side of the body. The right hemisphere is mainly used for thinking in spatial terms, such as reading a map, noticing subtle cues about people's emotions, appreciating art, understanding some forms of mathematics such as geometry, and processing sensory input from the left side of the body.

 

2

As stated, the right hemisphere of the brain isn't used for such narrowed down thought processes, but is used for basically everything else. The fight side of the brain is more perceptive to "creative" stimuli, thus reinforcing our hypothesis.

We defined handedness as a person's most predominantly used hand. Understanding that incorrect self reported dominance could change the outcome of our report, we chose to test our subjects. We had them draw a simple picture and catch a ball that we threw at them. To us, a creative person is someone who works well with their hands (an artist, architect, etc.), someone musical, someone with artistic abilities, someone very inventive, etc.

  • comment: notice their operational definition of creative.

 

Our experiment was intended to show that left handed people most often have creative jobs. In order to prove our theory, we asked twenty people which hand they most predominantly use, tested them to see if they answered accurately, asked them what they do for a living, what their job entitles, and if their job is that of preference or necessity.

Our survey (see attached) showed that almost all left handed people had a predominantly more creative job than most fight handed people (see career creativity scale).

 

From the data that we collected from both the job survey and the oral interview, we decided that our hypothesis proved to be true. Our study showed that all of the people that we interviewed that were predominantly left handed have a career that is at least considered "reasonably creative" on our creativity scale (see attached), and most were "'very creative." when are studies were complete, we concluded that out of the twenty people surveyed, the ten left handed people we interviewed were rated far more creative than the ten right handed people that we interviewed. We included the variable of asking

3

whether their job was that of preference or necessity, but the outcome of that question had neither a positive nor a negative effect on the final outcome so we didn't incorporate it into our conclusion.

  • comment: could have shown that it had no effect, what were the averages?
  • comment: notice they have 2 ways to describe differences: (1) average difference and (2) no LHand had "1" on scale

We have both learned a great deal on the subject of hemispherical differences, and if we had some more time to further our project, there would be different processes that pertain to each side of the brain.  We both decided that many different twists that we'd like to add. For starters, it would be interesting to try to have a person change their predominantly used hand for a day and see the changes that might occur. It's quite possible that after the subject is subjected to a day using the hand other than their most predominantly used one, they might process both creative and complex stimuli differently due to the alterations in their hemispherical activity. It would also be interesting to unexpectedly throw a ball at a person. Understanding that the left hemisphere of the brain engages in more narrowed thought, we both hypothesize that a large percentage of people would catch that ball with their right hand due to the fact that the brain would have to narrow its processes in order to catch the ball.

 

4

 

 

CAREER CREATIVITY SCALE

4

Very Creative: A person with a job that demands constant   creativity. An artist, musician, architect, etc. A person that is inventive and doesn't follow a set routing.

3

Reasonably Creative: Someone that uses a reasonable amount of creativity on a daily basis. An architect, photographer, etc. A person that usually applies some creativity to their career.

2

Somewhat Creative: A person that uses a minimal amount of creativity in their career. A doctor, a construction worker, etc. Someone that applies some creativity but mostly follows a set routine.

1

Barely Creative; Someone that doesn't usually apply creativity to their career. A truck driver, a secretary, etc. A person that has no need to apply creativity to their daily practices.

 

5

Research Information:
Name Career Hand Preference or Necessity? Score
1. Cynthia Receptionist Right Necessity 1
2. Steve Architect Left Preference 4
3. Ginele Paralegal Right Preference 3
4. Denis Estate Manager Right Necessity 2
5. John Photographer Left Preference 3
6. Cathy Travel Agent Left Preference 3
7. Shannon Bartender Right Necessity 1
8. Alfred Security Guard Right Necessity 2
Pauline Musician Left Preference 4
Riek Electrician Right Preference 1
Linda Florist Left Preference 4
Jim Military Right Necessity 1
Kathy Interior Design Left Preference 4

14.Matt Machinist Right Preference 2

15 Salath Nurse Left Preference 2

16.Crystal Waitress Right Necessity I

17.Bobbie Waitress Left Preference 1

18.Tim Bar Manager Right Preference 1

19.Lynda Casino Manager Left Necessity 2

20.Tefl Artist Left Preference 4

Bar Chart:

Creativity

Lefties 3.5 avg.

Righties 1.6 avg.

 

7

Direct Quotes From Classmates:

"Yes there is a conclusion. The data looks like it supports the conclusion. It all relates well!! Nice graphics."

-Sarah Deaton

"Yes there is a conclusion, enough to support the hypothesis. Yes, you have enough samples in your data that supported the conclusion. Good description of creative scale. None, poster is well related as on."

-Jung

 

 

"Yes the conclusion is there... sorry, I don't know what else to say. T e conclusion supports the given data. I like how you two included the question whether or not the job was out of preference or a necessity. The poster is clearly laid out and explained well. Nothing is not related (if that makes sense). Things are labeled and it is easy to see the purpose, procedure, and results from the project.

-SarahM.