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10-07-2019 | Original Article

Do left-handers outperform right-handers in paper-and-pencil tests of attention?

Auteurs: Peter Wühr, Ulrich Ansorge

Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research | Uitgave 8/2020

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of the dominant hand on performance in two paper-and-pencil tests of visual selective attention (d2-R; FAIR-2). We hypothesized that preview benefits (i.e., preprocessing of stimuli located to the right of the currently fixated item) could improve test performance of left-handers as compared to right-handers because using the right hand could prevent preview benefits simply by covering subsequent stimuli. A group of left-handed students (n = 86) and a group of right-handed students (n = 90) completed both the test d2-R and the test FAIR-2 with their dominant (writing) hand. Results showed that left-handed participants outperformed right-handers in both tests. Hence, when the results of left-handers are to be compared to right-handers or to normative data (which are dominated by right-handers), the impact of preview benefits on left-hander performance should be taken into account.

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KL is shorthand for the German word “Konzentrationsleistung”, which could be translated to “concentration performance” (CP; cf. Bates & Lemay Jr., 2004).

We are, of course, aware of the fact that left-handed people are much less frequent than right-handed people in the general population. Despite these different base rates, we tested similar numbers of left- and right-handers to establish comparable statistical power in both groups. Similar group sizes were achieved through convenience sampling: We had two calls open, one for right- and one for left-handers. As there are more right- than left-handers in the general population, data collection for the right-handers concluded earlier and data collection with the left-handers continued over a longer period of time.

It was not intended to provide the two groups of participants with different amounts of time for working on a row. This difference actually resulted from deficient communication. In fact, the manual for the d2-R recommends 20 s for a stimulus row. In contrast, the manual for the d2 (which contained shorter stimulus rows) recommended reducing the time per row to 15 s if ceiling effects were to be expected.

We used KL for sorting participants into three classes of performance in the d2-R, and we used L for sorting participants into three classes of performance in the FAIR-2.

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Titel: Do left-handers outperform right-handers in paper-and-pencil tests of attention?
Auteurs: Peter Wühr
Ulrich Ansorge
Publicatiedatum: 10-07-2019
Uitgeverij: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research / Uitgave 8/2020
Print ISSN: 0340-0727
Elektronisch ISSN: 1430-2772
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01224-z

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