One of the most widely held myths that left-handers claim about themselves concerns the association between left-handedness and creativity. Left-handers like to believe they are more creative and more likely to engage in artistic endeavors when compared to right-handers. Perhaps the connection between left-handedness and the visual arts started with the publication of the first edition of the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in 1979. The right hemisphere (or right side of the brain) is specialized for the processing of spatial and non-verbal material, and it also controls the movements of the left hand. This anatomical fact suggests that left-handers have special access to right hemisphere functions and, thus, are found in higher numbers in professions like the visual arts.
The influential Geschwind-Behan-Galaburda (GBG) theory of the 1980’s developed this link even further by arguing that exposure to intrauterine testosterone delays the development of the left hemisphere. This exposure shifts handedness to the left side and accentuates the development of the right hemisphere. The GBG theory also predicts that left-handers are especially skilled at tasks that rely on right hemisphere functions, such as the visual arts. Although the GBG theory has been resoundingly criticized in recent years, the remnants of its predictions about left-handers and their abilities remain active today.
A recent study tested the assumption that left-handers are over-represented among groups of visual artists. ¹ The authors examined the handedness of visual artists who posted video clips of their work on Instagram. Their sample included 468 artists each of whom had five video clips available for the evaluation of handedness side. The participants were classified as left- or right-handed based on the handedness shown in the video clips. The illustration above is an example in static form of the type of video clip included in this study. The data revealed that 42 of the 468 or approximately 9% of the artists were identified as left-handed. This figure does not differ significantly from the expected 10% incidence of left-handedness in the general population.
The authors also addressed the issue of whether the art of left-handers is considered of higher quality than that of right-handers. Their measure of quality consisted of calculating the average number of Likes Per Day (LPD) of the five video clips of each artist and the Number of Followers (NOF) of each artist. Neither measure of quality favored left-handers. The art works of left-handers did not attract more ‘likes’ or followers than that posted by right-handers.
This study joins a group of recent research efforts exploring aspects of handedness and laterality (sidedness) using social media and other internet resources. Although some may question the reliability and validity of internet-based outlets as data sources, they allow researchers to find larger sample sizes of left-handers than available using more traditional data-gathering techniques. The wide and international range of internet access provides an advantage when trying to contact the elusive 10% of left-handers in the population at large.
¹Røsvoli, A., Rusten, E.H., & Westerhausen, R. (2024). Left-hand preference in visual artists: A pre-registered observational study on Instagram. Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition, 29, 184-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650x.2024.2315856