Left-handedness has been shown to be a possible marker for various psychological and physical abnormalities. This book presents evidence by a number of researchers who evaluate whether there are indeed differences between left- and right-handers which extend into the broader psychological and physiological realms.Several chapters show that left-handedness is found in unexpectedly high proportions in populations that suffer from various immune deficiency diseases, in alcoholics, dyslexics, mental retardates, psychopaths and other clinical groups. The book indicates why left-handedness should be a marker for such conditions. The genetic and environmental pressures on handedness are explored. A model for pathological left-handedness is presented, along with some interesting data which suggests that left-handedness may be associated with reduced life-span. Finally, several chapters discuss the implications of handedness patterns in non-clinical populations.

Nine out of every ten human beings are naturally right-handed. Those who were not right-handed were feared, shunned, or forcibly retrained in many periods and cultures. Indeed, some members of fundamentalist sects still regard left-handers as in league with the devil, and prejudices against left-handers are reflected in the multiple associations of right with good and left with bad that have become enshrined in everyday language and folklore. A “left-handed compliment” is actually an insult, and the dictionary definition of left-handed includes the terms “awkward,” “clumsy,” “ill-omened,” and “Illegitimate.” In his summary of scientific research into sidedness, Stanley Coren rapidly dismisses the notion of the southpaw as somehow tainted. Increasingly we are coming to understand, however, that left-handedness does have social, educational, medical, and psychological implications. Coren uses entertaining examples to illuminate the paths of research he has followed, and answers vitally important questions such as: What are the neuropsychological and behavioral implications of differences for left-handers themselves, as well as for their parents, teachers, spouses, children, counselors, and physicians? How can we determine our own patterns of sidedness? Are they encoded in our genes? And, very importantly, how can we make the world more comfortable and safer for left-handers? Coren persuasively argues that left-handers are an invisible minority who must define themselves and organize for self-protections in the same way that more visible minorities have done. Much (though not all) of the risk to which left-handers are exposed derives from the fact that the tools they use and the machines they operate are designed for right-handers, a flaw that given heightened public awareness would be easy to correct. Coren advocates a change in the way the right-handed majority treats its left-handed minority to eliminate the risks left-handers face.

"Manual asymmetries" refers to differences in performance capabilities of the two hands. Humans may be the only species that show a consistent preference for the right hand.

Does being left-handed make a person different in any way that matters? Since the late Stone Age, approximately 10 percent of humans have been left-handed, yet for most of human history left-handedness has been stigmatized. In On the Other Hand, Howard I. Kushner traces the impact of left-handedness on human cognition, behavior, culture, and health. A left-hander himself, Kushner has long been interested in the meanings associated with left-handedness, and ultimately with whether hand preference can even be defined in a significant way. As he explores the medical and cultural history of left-handedness, Kushner describes the associated taboos, rituals, and stigma from around the globe. The words “left” and “left hand” have negative connotations in all languages, and left-handers have even historically been viewed as disabled. In this comprehensive history of left-handedness, Kushner asks why left-handedness exists. He examines the relationship—if any—between handedness, linguistics, and learning disabilities, reveals how toleration of left-handedness serves as a barometer of wider cultural toleration and permissiveness, and wonders why the reported number of left-handers is significantly lower in Asia and Africa than in the West. Written in a lively style that mixes personal biography with scholarly research, On the Other Hand tells a comprehensive story about the science, traditions, and prejudices surrounding left-handedness.

Developmental Instability: Its Origins and Evolutionary Implications is a collection of papers and transcribed discussions from a conference held in Tempe, Arizona in June 1993. The papers represent a wide range of contributions, from the empirical to the theoretical, and include methods for measuring developmental instability across a variety of taxa and traits. This volume presents contrasting views on how to assess developmental instability as well as on the relationship of instability to genotypic factors, environmental factors and the action of natural and sexual selection. Readers will derive a working knowledge of the best way to assess developmental instability and will be able to design future work in an authoritative way.

Left-handedness has been connected to many different conditions, traits, and abilities. This is especially true for pathological syndromes, such as schizophrenia, along with learning disabilities and autism. The published research on handedness is vast and frequently contradictory, often raising more questions than providing answers. Questions such as: - Is handedness genetic? - Can handedness be changed? - Are there consequences to training someone to switch handedness? - Are there positive traits associated with left-handedness like creativity? - Are there negative traits associated with left-handedness like trouble reading maps? - Is it abnormal to do some things right-handed and other things left-handed? - Are the brains of left-handers different from the brains of right-handers? Laterality: Exploring the Enigma of Left-Handedness examines the research conducted over the past 50 years with special emphasis on twenty-first century research on handedness and translates this literature into an accessible and readable form. Each chapter is based on a question or questions covering diverse topics such as genetic and biological origins of handedness, familial and hormonal influences on handedness, and the effects of a majority right-handed world on the behaviors of left-handers. - Summarizes scientific research on laterality - Separates fact from fiction in common beliefs about laterality - Includes illustrative interviews with left-handers

`Rather than being an esoteric aspect of brain function, lateralization is a fundamental characteristic of the vertebrate brain essential to a broad range of neural and behavioral processes.' Professor Lesley J. Rogers, Chapter 1 of Side Bias: A Neuropsychological Perspective. This volume contains 14 chapters from a veritable `United Nations' of experts in the field of lateralization of function. They write comprehensive reviews, present data, and pose new questions concerning the evolutionary origins and development of side bias, methodological concerns with the way we measure handedness and footedness, and some more unusual aspects of human beings' lateralized behavior, such as asymmetrical cradling and pseudoneglect. The book will be essential reading for students of behavioral neuroscience and neuropsychology interested in lateralization of function as well as for established researchers in the field.