Is it difficult to be left-handed and how is their life different: interesting facts

0

If you have been doing everything with your left hand since childhood and in general, the left half of your brain is more developed, congratulations – you belong to the 10-15% of people on the planet who are called left-handed.

Psychologists note: left-handed people are fundamentally different from the general mass, they are perceived differently by other people, because they also find different ways out of situations. Nowadays, left-handed people are no longer retrained to be right-handed, so it is easier to follow their habits and behavior. We tell interesting facts from the world of left-handed people.

Left-handed people are “programmed” not only by genes

There is no unequivocal answer to the question of why some people become left-handed. It is known that genes are responsible for this feature in 25% of cases. Left-handedness is also inherited, but not as often as height or eye color. Even identical twins can sometimes have different dominant hands. The brain can make a choice in favor of the left side even in the womb. For example, one theory links this developmental scenario to exposure to large doses of the male hormone testosterone. In addition, severe maternal stress during pregnancy can cause oxygen starvation (hypoxia), which leads to suppression of the more sensitive left hemisphere.

About the sides and hemispheres of the brain

The right and left hemispheres control not only “their” side of the body, but also determine differently how we process information, solve tasks, and respond to stimuli. It used to be thought that most right-handed people use the left hemisphere of the brain for speech-related tasks, while left-handed people have their language center in the right hemisphere. But further studies did not reveal a clear trend: language left-hemisphere was observed in 88% of right-handed and 78% of left-handed. Only 7% of left-handed people had pronounced right-hemisphere language activity.

Not all left-handed people are necessarily creative people

You can often hear that left-handedness comes “in the package” with extraordinary abilities. But, according to Ronald Yeo, professor of psychology at the University of Texas, there is no serious evidence for this. This rumor was born in 1995, when one study found that left-handed men find more unusual and diverse ways to solve problems. A neuropsychological study of gifted schoolchildren conducted in the Russian Federation proved that among children who have high achievements in mathematics, there are pronounced right-handed, left-handed and ambidextrous among them.

Lefties are more emotional and sensitive

Psychologists have found that among gifted teenagers, left-handed and ambidextrous (especially with different preference of eye and ear) are often distinguished by an increased level of anxiety, introversion and asthenicness, while right-handed people more often show strong-willed qualities and persistence in solving tasks. In addition, in a study by psychologists at the University of Abertay (Great Britain), left-handed people more often agreed with statements such as “I often worry about my mistakes”, “I am very affected by criticism.” At the same time, the data obtained on a wider sample did not reveal serious differences in the temperament of right-handed and left-handed people. Perhaps the anxiety of left-handed people manifests itself precisely in stressful situations, when their abilities will be evaluated by others. One way or another, this question is still not completely clear.

Leftists really see the world differently

In many languages, “right” also means “correct”, “just”, “true” “. For left-handed people, the opposite attitude is characteristic: what is on the left causes them more trust and sympathy.

“A person with a dominant left side of the body (hand, eye, ear) on an intuitive level will prefer those objects and images that are on the left, even if he cannot justify it,” explains Ronald Yeo.

Such an effect can be observed in various life situations when a choice has to be made. For example, during voting in elections, when the names of the candidates are placed on the left and right of the page, a left-handed person will choose the left-handed person more quickly.