Skip to main content
Log in

Effects of handedness and arm position on stroke-direction preferences in drawing

Psychological Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

In the present experiment we study the degree to which movements in graphic workspace are dictated by the geometrical features of that workspace, and by the anatomical features of the effector system that performs the movements. We investigate the effects of handedness and arm position on stroke-direction preferences in a drawing task. The subjects, 10 righthanders, 7 lefthanded inverters, and 7 lefthanded non-inverters, repeatedly produced small back-and-forth drawing movements in many directions. The position of their writing arm was varied at two levels. An analysis of polar frequency distributions derived from the digitally recorded drawing movements revealed different group effects and arm-position effects. The results indicate that multiple reference systems are involved in the control of movement direction. Whereas anatomical features of the effector system induce preferences for diagonal movement directions in graphic work space, non-anatomical factors are shown to be responsible for preferences for horizontal and vertical movement directions. Moreover, the present results support the view that the inverted hand position adopted by many lefthanders in writing tasks is probably used for biomechanical rather than for neurological reasons. This posture allows lefthanders to increase the relative contribution of wrist abduction and adduction in producing rightward-slanted script.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Annett, M. (1967). The binominal distribution of right, mixed, and lefthandedness.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 327–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, J. M., & Connolly, K. J. (1984). A classification of manipulative hand movements.Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 26, 283–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N., & Galaburda, A. M. (1985). Cerebral lateralization: Biological mechanisms, associations, and pathology: A hypothesis and a program for research.Archives of Neurology, 42, 428–459, 521–553, 635–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodnow, J. & Levine, R. A. (1973). The grammar of action: Sequence and syntax in children's copying.Cognitive Psychology, 4, 82–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guiard, Y., & Millerat, F. (1984). Writing postures in left-handers: Inverters are hand crossers.Neuropsychologia, 22, 535–538.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herron, J. (1980). Two hands, two brains, two sexes. In: J. Herron (Ed.),Neuropsychology of left-handedness (pp. 233–260). Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1985). Cognitive coordinate systems. Accounts of mental rotation and individual differences in spatial ability.Psychological Review, 92, 137–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, J. (1982). Handwriting posture and cerebral organization: How are they related?Psychological Bulletin, 91, 589–608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, J., & Reid, M. (1976). Variations in writing posture and cerebral organization.Science, 194, 337–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, J., & Reid, M. (1978). Variations in cerebral organization as a function of handedness, hand posture in writing, and sex.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 107, 1719–1744.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maarse, F. J., Schomaker, L. R. B., & Thomassen, A. J. W. M. (1986). The influence of changes in the effector coordinate system on handwriting movements. In H. S. R. Kao, G. P. Van Galen, & R. Hoosain (Eds.),Graphonomics: Contemporary research in handwriting (pp. 33–46). North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maarse, F. J., & Thomassen, A. J. W. M. (1983). Produced and perceived writing slant: Difference between up and down strokes.Acta Psychologica, 54, 131–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meulenbroek, R. G. J., & Thomassen, A. J. W. M. (1991). Stroke-direction preferences in drawing and handwriting.Human Movement Science, 10, 247–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meulenbroek, R. G. J., & Van Galen, G. P. (1989). Variations in cursive handwriting performance as a function of handedness, hand posture and gender.Journal of Human Movement Studies, 16, 239–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, M. (1983). Inverted and noninverted lefthanders compared on the basis of motor performances and measures related to the act of writing.Australian Journal of Psychology, 35, 405–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, M. (1986). Incidence of left-handed writers and the inverted writing position in a sample of 2914 German elementary school children.Neuropsychologia, 24, 429–433.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peter, M., & McGrory, J. (1987). The writing performance of inverted and noninverted right- and left-handers.Canadian Journal of Psychology, 41, 20–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rieser, J. J., & Pick, H. L. Jr. (1976). Reference systems and the perception of tactual and haptic orientation.Perception and Psychophysics, 19(2), 117–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shea, J. B., & Zimny, S. T. (1988). Knowledge incorporation in motor representation. In O. G. Meijer & K. Roth (Eds.),Complex movement behaviour: The motor-action controversy (pp. 289–314). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stelmach, G. E., & Larish, D. D. (1980). Egocentric referents in human limb orientation. In G. E. Stelmach & J. Requin (Eds.),Tutorials in motor behavior (pp. 167–184). Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teulings, H. L. (1988). Handwriting movement control. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Nijmegen.

  • Teulings, H. L., & Maarse, F. J. (1984). Digital recording and processing of handwriting movements.Human Movement Science, 3, 193–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teulings, H. L., Thomassen, A. J. W. M., & Maarse, F. J. (1989). A description of handwriting in terms of main axes. In R. Plamondon, C. Y. Suen, & M. L. Simmer (Eds.),Computer recognition and human production of handwriting (pp. 193–211). World Scientific Publ. Co., Singapore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomassen, A. J. W. M. (1992). Interaction of cognitive and biomechanical factors in the organization of graphic movements. In G. E. Stelmach & J. Requin (Eds.),Tutorials in motor behavior II. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomassen, A. J. W. M., Meulenbroek, R. G. J., & Hoofs, M. P. E. (1992). Economy and anticipation in graphic stroke sequences.Human Movement Science, 11, 71–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomassen, A. J. W. M., & Tibosch, H. J. C. M. (1991). A quantitative model of graphic production. In J. Requin & G. E. Stelmach (Eds.).Tutorials in motor neuroscience, 9 (pp. 269–281. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Sommers, P. (1984).Drawing and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, A. M. (1983). Capacity to vary writing hand posture in relation to the Levy and Reid model for control of writing.Journal of Motor Behavior, 15, 19–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, A. M., & Bradshaw, J. L. (1981). Levy and Reid's neurological model in relation to writing-hand posture: An evaluation.Psychological Bulletin, 90, 74–88.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Meulenbroek, R.G.J., Thomassen, A.J.W.M. Effects of handedness and arm position on stroke-direction preferences in drawing. Psychol. Res 54, 194–201 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00922099

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00922099

Keywords

Navigation