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- Title
INSIGHTS ON BEHAVIOURAL AND EDUCATIONAL PRESSURES ON LATERALITY DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN.
- Authors
Viviani, Franco
- Abstract
The finding of a great number of handprints in a Sulawesi cave (Indonesia) during a speleological expedition stimulated the present study. Rock art representations are in fact a functional indicator of the genesis of laterality, as some cultural constraints could merge from the context. What is lacking is a present day set of data on cultural pressures that influence laterality and that are useful for comparisons. The purpose of this observational study was to collect data on laterality in children aged 5-11 years of age. A sample of 669 primary school children, 383 males and 286 females, was divided into 3 age groups: 5-7; 7-9 and 9-11. To all of them the Spennemann's Test (1985), which requires subjects to draw the profile of a human face on a A4 paper, was administered and the hand used to sketch the drawing was recorded. Data were analysed according to the hand used to sketch the profile, the orientation of the drawn face (right or left) and the area of residence of the children (urban or rural). In the whole sample, 6.2% of the rural children sketched the face with the left hand, compared to 20.1% of the urban children (χ²=12.8, d.f.=4, p<.001). 55.9% of these subjects oriented the face to the left side (χ²=9.3; d.f.=1, p<.01). Left-handed children (LH) did not show a preference in the orientation of the drawings; while right-handed children (RH) preferred the left side of the paper. The higher incidence of LH found in urban vs rural schools suggests that there are still prejudices against LH in the rural social environment. A different tendency in the direction of the profile was ascertained. RH drew the profile towards the left side of the paper, while LH showed no preference in orientation. It appears that LH are lesser prone to represent situations in a culturally conventional manner.
- Subjects
LATERAL dominance; CEREBRAL dominance; HANDEDNESS; SOCIAL pressure; RURAL children; CITY children
- Publication
Papers on Anthropology, 2006, Vol 15, p294
- ISSN
1406-0140
- Publication type
Article