PMID: 9528114Apr 7, 1998Paper

Bipedal posture and hand preference in humans and other primates

Journal of Comparative Psychology
G C WestergaardS J Suomi

Abstract

Hand preference for quadrupedal and bipedal reaching in humans and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was examined, and the data were compared with postural reaching data that have been reported for 8 other primate species. Population-level biases were found toward use of the right hand for quadrupedal and bipedal reaching in humans and use of the left hand for quadrupedal reaching in rhesus macaques. Rhesus macaques showed a significant shift toward greater use of the right hand for bipedal vs. quadrupedal reaching. Comparisons with other species showed significant variance in the direction and strength of hand preference across reaching postures. The study noted right-hand biases for bipedal reaching in humans, great apes, and tufted capuchins and shifts toward greater use of the right hand for bipedal vs. quadrupedal reaching in great apes, tufted capuchins, and rhesus macaques. These results suggest that posture alters both the direction and strength of primate hand preference and that bipedalism may have facilitated species-typical right-handedness in humans.

Citations

Jul 11, 2006·Psychological Bulletin·William D Hopkins
Mar 2, 2011·BMC Evolutionary Biology·Marina ScheumannElke Zimmermann
Dec 20, 2012·PloS One·Andrey GiljovYegor Malashichev
Mar 19, 2013·BMC Evolutionary Biology·Andrey GiljovYegor Malashichev
Feb 27, 2001·Developmental Psychobiology·G C WestergaardJ D Higley
Aug 5, 2004·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Giovanna SpinozziTiziana Laganà
Aug 9, 2018·American Journal of Primatology·Antonio C de Andrade, Allana B de Sousa
Sep 24, 1999·The International Journal of Neuroscience·G C Westergaard, I D Lussier
Jul 19, 2006·American Journal of Primatology·Ana MorcilloAngela Loeches
Nov 22, 2012·Laterality·Felix StröckensSebastian Ocklenburg
Sep 16, 2016·Primates; Journal of Primatology·Penglai FanDingzhen Liu
Feb 20, 2018·American Journal of Primatology·Barbara RegaiolliWilliam D Hopkins
Feb 27, 2001·Developmental Psychobiology·G C WestergaardS J Suomi
Jun 9, 2018·PloS One·Paulette CullyPaul McGreevy
Dec 12, 2003·American Journal of Primatology·A ClevelandG C Westergaard

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