Locus of control and cerebral asymmetry

Data about the lack of synchronism of flexor carpi ulnaris peak EMG values of bimanual reactions during a semantic and during a visuospatial discrimination reaction time task are reported. The effects of type of task as well as the presence or absence of an unexpected stimulus preceding the reaction stimulus on lack of synchronism clearly depend upon the locus of control of the subjects, as measured on Rotter's I-E scale. On the basis of several arguments it is proposed that the measure of lack of synchronism reflects in an opposite sense the amount of dopaminergic activation or motor readiness in the sense in which Pribram and McGuinness in 1975 and Tucker and Williamson in 1984 have defined these concepts. The results for 15 women and 18 men show that more internally oriented subjects are more activated by a semantic task and by an unexpected preparatory stimulus in this type of task than more externally oriented subjects. The opposite appears to hold on the visuospatial task and unexpected preparatory stimuli therein. Together with earlier findings about reaction times and a number of relevant findings in the literature, the results are interpreted as indicative of basic differences in asymmetric tonic activation of the cerebral hemispheres between more internally and more externally oriented subjects. A model is proposed to explain phasic activating effects which ensue when tonically more left- or right-activated subjects perform left- or right-hemisphere tasks and when supplementary irrelevant stimuli are received.