Differences between Left- and Right-Handers on a Measure of Creativity

Abstract

The literature reports a number of differences both psychological and physiological between left- and right-handed individuals. Creativity was investigated as another dimension for which differences may exist, based on the belief that the left-handed are challenged by an environment mostly organized for the right-handed and make special adaptations that may signal creative behavior. A figural form of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking was used to measure creativity on 192 participants, 96 left-handed and 96 right-handed individuals. A multivariate analysis indicated that the left-handed demonstrated greater creativity than the right-handed on all four scales of the Torrance test; females scored higher than males, and college-educated subjects scored higher than those with no college.

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