Cultural and environmental aspects influence lateral preferences

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Anthropology
• Psychology

Background:

• Transcultural studies on lateral preference predominantly focus on handedness.
• Other dimensions of laterality may also exhibit cultural variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare lateral preference across five dimensions (hand, foot, trunk, hearing, visual) in young adults from Brazil and Mozambique.
• To investigate the influence of cultural factors on the degree and direction of lateral preference.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 202 undergraduate students (101 Brazilian, 101 Mozambican).
• Assessment of lateral preference direction and degree using the Global Lateral Preference Inventory.

Main Results:

• Mozambicans exhibited a higher degree of lateralization across all dimensions compared to Brazilians.
• Brazilians predominantly showed moderate preference, while Mozambicans had more individuals with strong preferences.
• Analysis of preference direction alone revealed similarities between groups, underscoring the importance of preference degree.

Conclusions:

• Lateral preference degree is a crucial factor in transcultural comparisons, potentially masked when only direction is considered.
• Future cross-cultural research should extend beyond handedness to include other laterality dimensions, as they can be culturally modulated.