Colleagues,
the evidence against the myth that left-handed people die earlier is
compelling. Check it out for yourself in this excellent article
by Lauren Harris (in Psychological Bulletin):
AN: 1994-00697-001
DT: Journal-Article
TI: Do left-handers die sooner than right-handers? Commentary on Coren and
Halpern's (1991) "Left-handedness: A marker for decreased survival fitness."
AU: Harris,-Lauren-J
SO: Psychological-Bulletin. 1993 Sep; Vol 114(2): 203-234.
PB: US: American Psychological Assn.
IS: 0033-2909
PY: 1993
AB: Cross-sectional life span studies of handedness typically show decreasing
percentages of left-handers in older age groups. S. Coren and D. F. Halpern
(see record 1991-11914-001) argued that this age trend reflects the shorter
life span of left-handers than right-handers. They presented 2 studies
providing what they regard to be direct evidence that left-handers, on average,
die sooner than right-handers. They also proposed a variety of reasons for what
they called left-handers' "decreased survival fitness." The author discusses
Coren and Halpern's reasons for rejecting a more conventional explanation of
the life span data, the 2 studies that they offered in support of their
argument, their analysis of other evidence they invoked to account for
left-handers' putative decreased survival fitness, and new studies in which the
longevity explanation was tested by more direct means than have been used thus
far. The author concludes that the case for the "decreased survival fitness"
hypothesis cannot be sustained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2000 APA, all
rights reserved)(unassigned)
Todd D. Nelson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
California State University-Stanislaus
Turlock, California 95382
Office: (209) 667-3442
FAX: (209) 664-7067
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: Http://www.csustan.edu/psych/todd/index.html
