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One who is right-handed is more dextrous with one's right hand than with one's left hand: one will write with their right hand, and probably also use this hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. According to different studies, 85% to 90%^[1] of the population is right-handed, while most of the remaining are left-handed. A very small percentage of the population can use both hands equally well; a person with this ability is deemed to be ambidextrous.

Contents 1 Meanings of the word "right" 1.1 "Right" in other languages 2 Why is the population right-hand dominant? 3 Theories explaining right-hand dominance 4 Right-handedness in society 5 References

Meanings of the word "right"Edit

The English word right can refer to^[2]

• Morally good or acceptable
• True or correct as a fact (also adverb correctly)
• To restore a normal or upright position
• A moral or legal entitlement to something
• Of or relating to conservative political views
• On the right-side of the body

A person may also describe somebody as his right hand man, which means that he relies heavily on this person, deriving from the importance and superiority placed on the right over the left by many civilizations.

"Right" in other languagesEdit

• The French word droit can refer to the right-side of the body. It can also refer to the study of law or to rights, an entitlement to something, such as human rights^[3].

• The Latin word dexter means right and as with the English word dextrous, can refer to skill or skilfullness.

• The Spanish word diestro can mean both right-handed or skilfull.

• The German word Recht can also refer to justice or morality

Why is the population right-hand dominant?Edit

It is not known with any degree of certainty why the population is right-hand dominant.

According to scientific theory, the right-side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain, and visa-versa. In right-handed people, the left hemisphere of the brain is the dominant hemisphere^[4].

A recent study^[5] found that right-handers use the right-side of the brain to focus on an entire image, but the left-side of the brain to focus on details within an image.

Being right-handed does not always mean that the favored foot is also on the right side. When playing soccer for instance, many people prefer using their left foot rather than the right, despite being right-handed^[6]

Theories explaining right-hand dominanceEdit

see main article at handedness

• Warrior and his shield theory: Warriors hold their shield with their left hand to protect the heart which is slightly on the left-side of the body. This leave the right hand free for weapon use.

• Brain hemisphere division of labor: The premise of this theory is that since both speaking and handiwork require fine motor skills, having one hemisphere of the brain do both would be more efficient than having it divided up.

Right-handedness in societyEdit

In the past, many schools around the world forced left handed children to write right-handed^[7]. A good number of technological devices are made primarily for right-handers, examples of everyday objects primarily designed for right-handers include refrigerators, scissors, microwaves, can-openers and padded kitchen mittens (padded on one side only). Musical instruments such as guitars are also set up for right-handers. Military rifles designed to be shot from the right shoulder only have resulted in injuries from spent cartridge casings hitting left-handers in the eye and head ^{[How to reference and link to summary or text]}.

ReferencesEdit

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Left-handedness – Cross-dominance – Right-handedness

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