Hand dominance is when one hand is preferred for fine motor skill tasks. 85-90% of people are right-handed, with some being ambidextrous. The cause of hand dominance is uncertain, with theories including brain function, genetics, and environment. Ambidexterity can be learned through practice.
Hand dominance is the phenomenon that occurs when one hand is preferred over the other for the fine motor skill task. An estimated 85-90% of the world’s population is right-handed. A select few individuals are known to be ambidextrous, meaning they have the ability to handle fine motor skill tasks equally with both hands. While there has been much speculation about what causes people to use one hand over the other, no firm conclusions have been drawn.
Among the most common theories to explain this phenomenon is that the left side of the brain controls much of the functioning of communications and therefore it would be natural to control the hand that an individual uses to write. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.
A number of questions need to be answered before this can become a generally accepted theory of hand domination. For example, if the left side of the brain is so critical of language and therefore controls the dominant hand, why isn’t the entire population right-handed?
Some dominance also appears to be genetically determined, to some extent. Even if both parents are left-handed, however, there’s still only a one in four chance that their child is also left-handed. While that rate is higher than that of the general population, it is far from fully explaining the cause.
Environment can also play a role in choosing dominant hands. Desks and other writing materials are normally oriented to make it more comfortable for those who are right-handed. This may help explain why there is so much variance among those with left-handed parents.
Also, it is possible to learn to be ambidextrous. Those who have lost a limb often have to, and others simply look to becoming ambidextrous as a goal to achieve. Motor skills can improve with practice, on both the preferred and non-preferred sides. Ultimately, hand dominance may be a product not only of biology, genetics, and environment, but also of choice.
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