Do Left-Handed Competitors Have an Innate Superiority in Sports?

Abstract

This study assessed handedness distributions among (a) sporting competitors (n = 1,112) and nonsporting university students (n = 1,112), (b) sporting competitors engaging in interactive (n = 576) and in noninteractive sports (n = 536), and (c) sporting competitors engaging in direct interactive (n = 219) and indirect interactive (n = 357) sports. Chi-squared showed that there were statistically significant differences in proportions of left-handed persons in (a) sporting competitors and nonsporting university students, (b) sporting competitors engaging in interactive and noninteractive sports, (c) sporting competitors engaging in interactive sports and nonsporting university students, and (d) sporting competitors engaging in direct interactive and indirect interactive sports. It appears that left-handers are more common among those who engage in competitive manual activities. This superiority of the left-handers may be fully explained by a consideration of tactical or strategic factors associated with handedness during sporting interactions. The results with important implications for the measurement and evaluation of handedness are discussed in the light of the current findings on laterality.