Left-handed and right-handed people have a lot of things in common, but they also have more differences than just what hand or side of the body they tend to favor, even if you don't realize that some of these differences might very-well be related to their dominant hand. There are some unexpected personality traits left-handed people have in common that distinguish them from right-handed people that, if you spend any time around lefties or are one yourself, you might be interested in knowing more about.
For left-handed people living in a right-handed world, things can be awfully difficult. From scissors to cooking tools, desks, spiral-bound notebooks and more, there's a lot of adjusting required if you grow up left-handed. And while you might think that the person you are, your health, and your identity have nothing to do with which hand you feel more comfortable using to accomplish everyday tasks, it might all be more related than you previously realized. Live Science reported that only about 10 percent of the population is left-handed, but there are some certain similarities that that 10 percent has in common. From a higher likelihood of certain medical conditions to reactions, thought patterns, and more, here's some of what the southpaws you know might have in common.
1They Tend To Be More Creative In A Specific Way
Although lefties are sometimes said to be more creative in general, that's probably not really true. But a 1995 article published in the American Journal of Psychology found that left-handed men are better at divergent thinking, which allows them to consider many different possibilities, approaches, and solutions to problems. That means that they might be able to more creatively solve some problems when they arise.
2They Favor Things On The Left Side
Interestingly enough, people who are left-handed might be more drawn to things arranged on the left-hand side, while those who are right-handed are more drawn to things on the right. Health reported that, in 2009, Stanford researchers found that left-handed people automatically associate things on the left with good, positive feelings. So being left-handed or right-handed really does have an influence on how you think.
3They Excel At Certain Sports
You might not think that which hand you favor has anything to do with your athletic abilities, but it might have some bearing on how well you do in certain sports. The previously-mentioned article from Live Science noted that a Northwestern University study found that in physical competitions like fighting, left-handers have an advantage if most everyone else is right-handed. Tennis is another sport where some competitors feel there's an advantage if you're left-handed. Babble noted that Rafael Nadal became a left-handed player at a young age because his coach (who was also his uncle) thought it'd give him a competitive edge.
4They're Quick On Their Feet
The BBC reported that a 2006 study published in the Neuropsychology found that left-handed people process information slightly faster than right-handed people. Psychologist Dr. Steve Williams told the BBC that left-handed people use both sides of the brain more often, which enables them to be better at doing so when processing information.
5They Get Frustrated Or Angry More Easily
Everyday Health reported that a relatively small study that was published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that those who are left-handed aren't as good at dealing with their emotions and also are more likely to deal with negative thoughts and feelings. This might mean that they get a little more easily upset than those who are right-handed. It's definitely an area that warrants more research, however.
6They Scare Easily
I'm left-handed and also a scaredy cat, so this is validation in some ways for me, but those who are left-handed might be more easily affected by scary movies and other fears than right-handed people. Researchers at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh found that left-handers were more likely to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder than right-handed people as well, as a result of experiencing serious fear, as the Telegraph reported. Fear is powerful.
Left-handed people and right-handed people really do seem to have some surprising differences. It's not all just about which hand they use to hold a pen.
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