Am I Left-Handed or Mixed-Handed?

"Most psychological studies investigating handedness have two different categories: left-handedness and right-handedness. A large-scale meta-analysis integrating the results of such studies found that about 10.6% of the volunteers investigated in these studies were left-handed and 89.4% were right-handed ( Papadatou-Pastou, and co-workers, 2020). Interestingly, a minority of handedness studies also included a third handedness category: mixed-handedness. Indeed, a recent study using sophisticated statistical methods confirmed that handedness is indeed is very likely to have three different forms, not two ( Mundorf and co-workers, 2024)."

"Typically, psychological handedness studies find out about the handedness of someone using questionnaires containing several questions about their preferred hand for various activities. This could, for example, include writing, drawing, cutting, opening a lid, and other activities. For each activity, the person has to say whether they always use one hand, mostly use one hand, or use both hands equally. Typically, someone who is right-handed would always or mostly use their right hand for all activities."

Handedness exists in three distinct forms: left, right, and mixed. A large-scale meta-analysis found about 10.6% of people are left-handed and 89.4% are right-handed. Sophisticated statistical analysis supports three separate handedness categories rather than only two. Mixed-handed individuals lack a clear single-hand preference and often use different hands for different tasks. Many mixed-handed people are unaware of their mixed-handedness. Multi-item hand-preference questionnaires can identify mixed-handedness by asking about preferred hands for activities such as writing, drawing, cutting, and opening lids, with graded response options.

Read at Psychology Today