Did you know that one in every 100 people is mixed-handed?That means they can operate with both their hands with equal efficiency. According to psychologists, handedness does not refer to right-handed or left-handed individuals but rather strong-handed or mixed-handed individuals.Human handedness refers to one’s preferential use of one hand, called the dominant hand, by virtue of it being faster, stronger, or better in dexterity. Whereas the non-dominant hand or the less used hand is comparatively the weaker and less dexterous one.In human biology, current research suggests that 87% of the human population use their right hand as their dominant hand. They are often referred to as ‘right-handers’. Left-handed people make up only about 12% of the population, and the remaining 1% of the population is ambidextrous or mixed-handed, which means they can use both their hands with equal efficiency.There is an interesting connection between the human brain and the hand. Our brains are cross-wired. In simple words, the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side. This results in the unique skill set of right-handers and left-handers.Studies show that left-handers are more likely to have better 3D perception, music awareness, imagination, creativity, and art skills. Left-handed people are more inclined towards art and musical instruments. At the same time, right-handers have a stronger hand in number skills, written skills, reasoning, language, logic, and analytic thought.That’s not the only difference, as some studies also say that left-handers are more likely to have allergies and migraines. They are more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation, and their lifespan is likely to be shorter by nine years than their right-handed peers. Some studies also claim that left-handed children tend to attain puberty four to five months later than their right-handed peers.Did you know that in some places, left-handedness is seen as evil or abnormal, and children born as left-handers are often forced to operate with their right hand? This causes confusion in their brains and can negatively impact their natural development, confidence, and self-esteem.Also, some people use one hand for some tasks and the other for others; these people are referred to as ‘mixed-handed’ because they use both hands for all tasks. Those who have equal ability in both hands are referred to as ‘ambidextrous’, meaning that they’re both right-handed and left-handed.Mixed handedness is also called mixed laterality, mixed dominance, cross-dominance, or hand confusion. Research says that mixed-handed children have the maximum possibility of having language, scholastic, and mental health problems.Meaning Of Mixed HandednessMany people have one side that is more dominant than the other side of their body. If the dominant side has not been developed, then this is called being cross dominant or mixed dominant. Sometimes, people with cross dominance may even switch dominance depending on the task to be performed as the right hand and left leg, or vice versa.Being mixed dominant doesn’t mean both hemispheres are equally strong. It is more about the dominant side being undeveloped. It means that cross-dominant people have a uniquely built brain, which results in unique strengths. The strengthening helps their brains work in a more integrated way.Mixed laterality refers to an individual favoring motor skills on one side of the body, including an eye, foot, or ear. They often face problems in activities that require aim, such as shooting. One of the most typical varieties of mixed dominance is ambidexterity, in which ‘ambi’ means ‘both’ and ‘dexter’ means ‘right’, making it ‘right on both sides’.Research says cross dominance is the result of brains that are imbalanced and undeveloped. Mixed-handed individuals have poor mental and physical health, with higher rates of dyslexia, lower cognitive parameters, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).It is also associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and developmental disorders, like depression, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorders, alcoholism, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. Furthermore, they are at a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, cognitive tasks that require activity in both hemispheres are well performed by mixed-handers as compared to right-handers and left-handers.Reasons For Mixed HandednessLike most characteristics of human behavior, handedness is an intricate trait that is influenced by multiple factors, such as epigenetics, genetics, environment, language, and more.Hand preference probably arises as part of the developmental process, which begins to develop before birth. It is related to functional disconnection syndrome (FDS), which naturally occurs, disconnecting the brain, and is not related to any kind of surgery or trauma. This syndrome doesn’t communicate properly or is not at an accurate speed with different hemispheres of the brain, which causes miscommunications and takes a longer time to process. It is caused when one side develops faster than the other side of the brain.Handedness may also be genetically influenced, as handedness in the womb is a very exact predictor of hand preference after birth. It is also believed that the heritability of handedness is approximately 24%.However, another theory states that ultrasound may sometimes affect the brains of unborn children in the womb and cause higher rates of mixed dominance. The first sign of handedness becomes detectable in early childhood, during fetal development. It means the fetus decides whether it is right-handed or left-handed.Ultrasound results revealed that at the 10th week of gestation, most fetuses move their right arm more than their left hand, whereas, from the 15th week, the majority of fetuses start to suck their right thumb. Also, leftward growth of the brain, seen in the first trimester of pregnancy, plays an important role in neurological development.Cross dominance is considered a learning disability because the information that is normally processed on both the right and left brain jumps back and forth between each hemisphere in this case. Therefore, it causes the brain to be disorganized.How does mixed handedness affect a person’s activities?It is believed that strongly handed individuals have weak systems for updating beliefs as compared to mixed dominance because mixed-handed people have greater degrees of communication between their two cerebral hemispheres. They also experience fringe consciousness to a greater degree compared to others.Brain hemispheres play different roles in updating and maintaining an individual’s beliefs. Likewise, the left hemisphere (LH) forms constant beliefs, while the right hemisphere (RH) evaluates for inconsistencies or oddities related to these beliefs when appropriate. The lack of hemisphere development in mixed laterality may lead to a delay in mastering grammar, vocabulary, and language.Measured by the Barnum Effect, mixed-handers exhibit a higher degree of persuasion gullibility in a standard attitude-change paradigm due to their association with increased interhemispheric interaction. There is a link between mixed-dominance and developmental delays in mixed-handed children, where they find difficulty in developing motor skills.A few activities of cross dominance can explain many learning behaviors such as misplacing objects, constant indecisiveness, poor handwriting, the tendency to rotate the head while writing and rotating papers strangely, difficulty with motor movements, and performing tasks that cross the body midline.One might think that being a mixed hander is full of cons. However, that’s not true. Sometimes being cross-dominant also helps, such as in sports. In football, a player can shoot from any position, no matter which side the ball is on, and make it impossible for a defender to guess and give a better performance. Also, cross dominance helps the goalkeeper be able to dive in both directions. It is also advantageous in sports like pool, skateboarding, basketball, baseball, surfing, golf, and tennis, where they can aim at two points at a time.Besides sports, another advantage of mixed handedness is reading with the dominant right eye whilst listening with the dominant left ear or listening to the teacher while reading the blackboard.Characteristics Of Mixed Handed PeopleThe characteristics of cross-dominant people depend on memory, accident-proneness, and belief in improbable events. Based on such criteria, people with hand confusion encode memories faster but are statistically more at risk as compared to left-handed and right-handed people.Mixed-handedness is associated with a great waste of amygdala and hippocampus, and these brain structures are strongly associated with cognitive aging and dementia. Also, some mixed-handed individuals are in poor physical and mental health, with higher rates of dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and lower cognitive parameters. Mixed-handed children also face difficulties in reading, writing, and poor mathematical abilities.Handedness reflects the structure of the brain, as the brain works asymmetrically. But mixed-handed people, in contrast, use one hand for primary tasks such as throwing, writing, and eating, but show mixed preferences for other functions. In fact, mixed-handers have an odds-on of being hypochondriac and are less likely to believe in creationism or be homophobic.
Did you know that one in every 100 people is mixed-handed?
