_______________ refers to the side of the body an individual favor, such as being left-handed or right-handed.
The term laterality refers to the preference most humans show for one side of their body over the other. Examples include left-handedness/right-handedness and left/right-footedness, it may also refer to the primary use of the left or right hemisphere in the brain. It may also apply to animals or plants. When a southpaw shakes hands, his left eye and the right portion of his brain are working hard to process the other individual, suggests a new study. The research helps to explain why hand and limb preferences exist across numerous species. This theory seems to be supported in such examples as the famous Kerr Clan of Scotland who were predominately left-handed as well as several members of the Royal Family, King George II, King George VI, Queen Victoria, the Queen Mother Elizabeth, and Prince Charles all of which are left-handed as well. Cross laterality is an ambidextrous mixture (for example, being left handed but dominant in the right eye and foot). This may cause coordination difficulties. However, some sports (such as gymnastics) benefit from the distribution of brain dominance. Research into cross laterality is ongoing. Most children have a preference for using one hand or the other by the age of about 18 months, and are definitely right or left-handed by about the age of three. If your child is naturally left-handed, don’t try to force them into using their right hand. They are the people who were born left-handed. Left-handedness has been looked at as many things throughout recorded history: The mark of the devil, mental retardation, mental neurosis, rebellion, a nasty habit, a social inconvenience, homosexuality, and criminality to name a few. Since 90 per cent of the population is right-handed, left-handed people do experience some practical problems, including: 1  Western writing runs from left to right. 2  Left-handed children learning to write often write back to front (‘mirror’ writing). 3  Implements such as scissors are designed for use with the right hand. Young people are more likely to be left-handed (14% for men, 12% for women) than are the elderly (near 6% for both sexes) People of Asian (9.3%) or Hispanic (9.1%) lineage are slightly less likely to be left-handed than whites, blacks, or North American Indians.. This provides a better view in front of the preferred eye. Since the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere control's the body's right side, the eye and limb preferences also reveal which side of the individual's brain dominates, at least during visual investigations. Left-handedness is less common than right-handedness. Left-handed people are more skillful with their left hands when performing tasks. Studies suggest that approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed. Cross-dominance or Mixed-handedness is the change of hand preference between tasks. This is common in the population with about a 1% prevalence.
Laterality