Speaking of Psychology Lefties, righties and mixed-handers: The psychology of brain asymmetry, with Sebastian Ocklenburg, PhD
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Oct 1, 2025 Sebastian Ocklenburg, PhD, a researcher focused on handedness and brain asymmetries, dives into the intriguing world of left-handedness: only about 10.6% of the population is left-handed. He explores the genetic and environmental factors influencing handedness and dispels the myth that lefties are more creative. Ocklenburg also discusses why left-handed individuals are underrepresented in research, the concept of pawedness in animals, and the curious advantages left-handers may have in certain sports. Plus, he unravels the complexities of ambidexterity!
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Left-Handedness Is A Stable Minority
- About 10.6% of people are left-handed worldwide, with country variation driven largely by culture.
- Cultural retraining and negative stereotypes reduce measured left-handedness in some countries.
Handedness Is Brain-Not-Hand Driven
- Genetics explain roughly 25% of handedness and involve many genes tied to brain development, not the hands.
- Handedness reflects hemispheric motor dominance rooted in the motor cortex rather than hand anatomy.
Early Development Shapes Hand Preference
- Prenatal factors, sex hormones, breastfeeding and twin births show small associations with handedness.
- Many environmental and hormonal influences interact with genetic predispositions during early development.
