Lateral Preferences in Adult Embracing: A Test of the “Hemispheric Asymmetry” Theory of Infant Cradling

Abstract

Abstract Women's preference for cradling infants leftwardly has been proposed (Manning & Chamberlain, 1990, 1991) as resulting from the specialization of the right hemisphere for the perception and expression of emotion. On the basis of this theory, adult embracing, which has many features in common with infant cradling, should also show a leftward tendency. Lateral preferences in adult embracing were investigated in laboratory and natural observation studies. The results show that, as with infant cradling, lateral preferences in embracing predominate in women and are unrelated to handedness. However, the results of both studies show that men tend toward a preference to embrace rightwardly—the direction opposite from that predicted on the basis of a "hemispheric asymmetry" account of embracing.