The Relationship between Handedness and Mathematics Is Non-linear and Is Moderated by Gender, Age, and Type of Task



Sala, Giovanni ORCID: 0000-0002-1589-3759, Signorelli, Michela, Barsuola, Giulia, Bolognese, Martina and Gobet, Fernand ORCID: 0000-0002-9317-6886
(2017) The Relationship between Handedness and Mathematics Is Non-linear and Is Moderated by Gender, Age, and Type of Task. Frontiers in Psychology, 8 (JUN). 948-.

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Abstract

The relationship between handedness and mathematical ability is still highly controversial. While some researchers have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks, others have more recently proposed that mixed-handers are the most disadvantaged group. However, the studies in the field differ with regard to the ages and the gender of the participants, and the type of mathematical ability assessed. To disentangle these discrepancies, we conducted five studies in several Italian schools (total participants: N = 2,314), involving students of different ages (six to seventeen) and a range of mathematical tasks (e.g., arithmetic and reasoning). The results show that (a) linear and quadratic functions are insufficient for capturing the link between handedness and mathematical ability; (b) the percentage of variance in mathematics scores explained by handedness was larger than in previous studies (between 3 and 10% vs. 1%), and (c) the effect of handedness on mathematical ability depended on age, type of mathematical tasks, and gender. In accordance with previous research, handedness does represent a correlate of achievement in mathematics, but the shape of this relationship is more complicated than has been argued so far.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: handedness, mathematics, lateralization, non-linearity, cognitive ability
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 09 Oct 2017 08:04
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 07:01
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00948
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3008231