Handedness - Different Types

Different Types

There are four main types of handedness:

• Right-handedness is most common. Right-handed people are more dexterous with their right hands when performing tasks. A variety of studies suggest that 70–90% of the world population is right-handed, rather than left-handed or any other form of handedness.
• Left-handedness is less common than right-handedness. Left-handed people are more dexterous with their left hands when performing tasks. A variety of studies suggest that approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed.
• Mixed-handedness, also known as cross-dominance, is being able to do different tasks better with different hands. For example, a mixed-handed person might write better with their left hand, but throw a ball more efficiently with their right. However, many writers define handedness by the hand used for writing, so mixed-handedness is often not included. As well, some tools may force mixed-handedness (e.g., scissors will not cut properly if held in the wrong hand, although scissors are manufactured in both lateral varieties). Most left-handed people develop some mixed-handedness simply by living in a world where most everyday objects are suited for right-handed people, or by growing up with right-handed parents.
• Ambidexterity is exceptionally rare, although it can be learned. A truly ambidextrous person is able to do any task equally well with either hand. Those who learn it still tend to sway towards their originally dominant hand.
• People who demonstrate awkwardness with both hands are said to be ambilevous or ambisinister. Ambisinistrous motor skills or a low level of dexterity may be the result of a debilitating physical condition.

Newer theories of handedness look at handedness in different ways from previously. The newer view is that handedness is not a simple preference for one hand because the two hands actually work together in more subtle ways. For example, when writing, it is not a simple matter of one hand being dominant and writing on the paper. For a right-handed person, the left hand is involved in important ways: it orients and grips the paper and provides the context from which the right hand operates. Thus the right hand appears specialized for finer movements and the left for broader, contextual movements.