Concept in Definition ABC

It is called laterality to preference that most human beings manifest, although it can also manifest itself in plants and animals, on the one hand of their own body.

Laterality implies a spontaneous preference in the use of organs situated, either on the side right or on the left, such as: arms and legs. Meanwhile, one of the clearest examples of laterality is that of left-handed, the natural tendency with which some people are born that leads them to use the left hand par excellence.

It should be noted that most human beings are right-handed, showing, therefore, a predominance of the right side and although the causes that cause laterality are not are still fully defined, what is assumed is that the left cerebral hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body, which also happens to be the predominant.

But apart from the biological explanation that somehow clarifies the predominance of the right side of the body, there is also a reinforcement of the type cultural

that marks the predominance of the right side, because, in the language Castilian, the word sinister (on the left) is often used with a connotation negative, pejorative, on the other hand, the opposite occurs with the right, culturally linked with concepts such as rectitude and honesty, among others.

When an individual is forced to use the opposite hand to the one he habitually uses predominantly, it is called forced laterality.

On his side, the ambidextrous, is that individual who is capable of to write without any inconvenience and with the same clarity with his two hands, right and left and that he can use both sides of his body with the same skill and predisposition.

Ambidexterity is a rare situation, although, in the long or short, the individual will always end up showing the inclination to one particular side.

And the crossed laterality occurs when a person writes with the left hand but eats and practices sport with his right hand.

Topics in Laterality