Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Lefties and Perception

Psychologist Daniel Casasanto conducted an experiment examining how left-handed individuals differ in their biases compared to right-handed individuals. To conduct this experiment, Casasanto used a computer program which rendered randomly generated 3D images similar to that of a Rorschach test. Two different images were placed side by side and participants were asked which image they felt was more attractive, happier, intelligent, and so on. Of 286 participants, 40 of them were left-handed. Casasanto discovered individuals with a dominant left hand were far more likely to choose the object on the left regardless of what the image displayed.
To further test his finding, Casasanto conducted a similar experiment under the guise of a fake election. Casasanto found left-hand dominant individuals were again more likely to choose the name on the left side of the ballot than other participants. Cause for this finding can be attributed to what's called embodied cognition, meaning thoughts are simulations of our likely actions.

http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2015/12/6/9850884/handedness-changes-perception

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