TY - JOUR
T1 - The distribution of hand preference is discrete : a taxometric examination
AU - Dragovic, Milan
AU - Milenkovic, S.
AU - Hammond, Geoff
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - [Truncated abstract] The dominant genetic models of human handedness (Annett, 1985; McManus, 1985a) have contrasting views on its nature. Whereas Annett's model proposes that handedness is distributed continuously (following the distribution of performance asymmetries of the hands), McManus's model proposes that handedness is distributed dichotomously. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of the underlying distribution. The taxonomy of hand preference was analysed by two independent taxometric procedures, 'mean-above-mean-below-a-cut' and 'maximum-eigenvalue', separately in two geographically, demographically, and culturally distinct samples; one of Australian adults (N = 787), and the other of Serbian high school students (N = 1, 224). The analyses revealed a latent categorical structure in both samples, with estimated mean base-rates of a right-handed taxon of 0.80 and 0.94 from the two analyses of the adult sample and of 0.79 and 0.93 from the two analyses of the high school sample. Subsequent analyses showed that the initial right-handed class could be subdivided into consistent and inconsistent right-handed subclasses in both samples...
AB - [Truncated abstract] The dominant genetic models of human handedness (Annett, 1985; McManus, 1985a) have contrasting views on its nature. Whereas Annett's model proposes that handedness is distributed continuously (following the distribution of performance asymmetries of the hands), McManus's model proposes that handedness is distributed dichotomously. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of the underlying distribution. The taxonomy of hand preference was analysed by two independent taxometric procedures, 'mean-above-mean-below-a-cut' and 'maximum-eigenvalue', separately in two geographically, demographically, and culturally distinct samples; one of Australian adults (N = 787), and the other of Serbian high school students (N = 1, 224). The analyses revealed a latent categorical structure in both samples, with estimated mean base-rates of a right-handed taxon of 0.80 and 0.94 from the two analyses of the adult sample and of 0.79 and 0.93 from the two analyses of the high school sample. Subsequent analyses showed that the initial right-handed class could be subdivided into consistent and inconsistent right-handed subclasses in both samples...
U2 - 10.1348/000712608X304450
DO - 10.1348/000712608X304450
M3 - Article
C2 - 18447970
SN - 0007-1269
VL - 99
SP - 445
EP - 459
JO - British Journal of Psychology
JF - British Journal of Psychology
IS - 4
ER -