The psychology of brain asymmetry, with Sebastian Ocklenburg, PhD | Speaking of Psychology

Left-handers make up about 10.6 percent of the world’s population. Sebastian Ocklenburg, PhD, talks about why handedness and other brain asymmetries exist; the genetic and environmental factors that influence handedness; whether there’s any truth to the stereotype that lefties are more creative; why “pawedness” is common in cats, dogs, and other non-human animals; and why left-handed people are underrepresented in brain research. 00:00 Intro to The psychology of brain asymmetry 01:26 Meet Dr. Sebastian Ocklenburg 02:21 How common is left-handedness? 02:59 Why some countries have higher percentages 03:58 What determines handedness? Genetics, prenatal experiences 05:30 Handedness caused by the brain 07:11 How early in life does handedness emerge? 08:32 Why is it more common for people to be right-handed? 08:58 Left-handedness/pawedness more common in animals 10:21 Why people aren’t more ambidextrous? 12:38 Mixed handedness vs ambidexterity 14:44 Handedness/pawedness in animals, asymmetry across the animal kingdom 18:10 Brains of left-handed vs. right-handed people 19:07 Handedness, footedness and eye preference 20:06 Sensory biases: favorite side to hug, taste food, high-five 21:39 Are creative artistic people more likely to be left-handed? 23:09 Success of left-handed athletes 24:49 Neurodivergent people more likely to be left- or right-handed? 25:54 Interest in handedness, brain and behavior 27:07 Handedness in social media 27:45 Underrepresentation of left-handedness in research studies 30:04 Find unique ways to analyze data including left-handed people 32:02 Closing thoughts: non-dominant hand training, neuroscience, handedness in psychology __________________________________ The American Psychological Association is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 157,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members. To learn more about APA visit http://www.apa.org Follow APA on social media: Facebook   / americanpsychologicalassociation   Twitter   / apa   LinkedIn   / american-psychological-association   Instagram   / apa_org   Threads https://www.threads.net/@apa_org