An Unexpected Conclusion by Scientists: Who Becomes a Leader More Often — Left-Handed or Right-Handed People 0 11

There is a concept known as "handedness lateralization," which means the asymmetry of body functions. Science already knows that those individuals who have one side predominating are more successful. In other words, nature did not randomly divide all people into right-handed and left-handed: if we could use both hands equally, it would create additional problems.

Specialists from the University of Chieti-Pescara in Italy decided to investigate who among people has innate leadership qualities — right-handed or left-handed individuals. There was already a hypothesis that left-handed people are more competitive; however, detailed studies on this topic had not been conducted.

To test the hypothesis, the scientists carried out a two-stage study. First, the specialists organized an online survey involving more than a thousand people. The questions were formulated together with psychologists to assess:

• the competitiveness of each volunteer;
• to learn more about the person's character, including their self-esteem.

When the experts systematized the survey results, they proceeded to the second stage. For this, they selected 48 participants. Men and women were invited to the laboratory to perform a dexterity test. The participants had to sort cards against the clock, selecting the appropriate ones based on the principle of "own — foreign."

The results showed: people who wrote with their left hand demonstrated higher scores on the competitive orientation scale, which reflects the desire to win and dominate at any cost. In simpler terms, it is the left-handed individuals who are natural leaders, almost always ready to compete for their place in the sun.

As for right-handed individuals, they often tried to avoid competition by all means. People were concerned that they would not be able to win the competition, and they were generally more prone to anxiety.

Another interesting observation by the scientists: the self-esteem of individuals was not dependent on which hand was dominant. The experts could not identify a correlation. Moreover, some right-handed individuals turned out to be excellent left-handed ones: sometimes they completed tasks with their non-dominant hand without difficulty.

The eternal question: should left-handed individuals be retrained? Modern specialists agree that there is no need to interfere with the natural development of a child.

Just a few decades ago, and even in the distant 19th century, left-handed individuals were diligently retrained to be right-handed, considered to be the right and beneficial approach. Now experts believe that no one should be retrained, especially if it causes rejection and stress in the child.

"If the child has no resistance and easily adapts, then why not make them right-handed? But if they still prefer their left hand, it is better to leave it as it is. Otherwise, they may face problems with fine motor skills and skill acquisition," said the specialist.