Childrens’ left-turning preference is not modulated by magical ideation.
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| Title: | Childrens’ left-turning preference is not modulated by magical ideation. |
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| Authors: | Streuli, Jürg C. (AUTHOR), Obrist, Gina (AUTHOR), Brugger, Peter (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Laterality. Jan2017, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p90-104. 15p. |
| Subjects: | Twisting (Human body), Magical thinking in children, Pediatric neuropsychology, Neuropsychiatry, Handedness, Motor ability in children |
| Abstract: | The literature on human turning preferences is inconsistent. While the few studies with children below 14 years of age uniformly describe an overall left-turning (counterclockwise) tendency, a recent Internet study with more than 1500 adults found a right-sided (clockwise) bias. We set out to investigate spontaneous turning behaviour in children age 5–3 years and, based on neuropsychiatric work in adults, also explored a potential association with magical thinking. Findings indicated a clear left-turning preference, independent of a participant's sex and handedness. Whether a child responded a question about the existence of extrasensory communication in the affirmative or not was unrelated to direction and size of turning bias and lateral preference. Our results are consistent with a left-sided turning preference reported for children, but in opposition to the clockwise bias recently described in a large-scale study with adults. Whether they point to a maturational gradient in the preferred direction of spontaneous whole-body rotation or rather to a lack of comparability between measures used in observational versus Internet-based studies remains to be further investigated. Regarding a purported association between body turns and magical thinking, our study is preliminary, as only one single question was used to probe the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | The literature on human turning preferences is inconsistent. While the few studies with children below 14 years of age uniformly describe an overall left-turning (counterclockwise) tendency, a recent Internet study with more than 1500 adults found a right-sided (clockwise) bias. We set out to investigate spontaneous turning behaviour in children age 5–3 years and, based on neuropsychiatric work in adults, also explored a potential association with magical thinking. Findings indicated a clear left-turning preference, independent of a participant's sex and handedness. Whether a child responded a question about the existence of extrasensory communication in the affirmative or not was unrelated to direction and size of turning bias and lateral preference. Our results are consistent with a left-sided turning preference reported for children, but in opposition to the clockwise bias recently described in a large-scale study with adults. Whether they point to a maturational gradient in the preferred direction of spontaneous whole-body rotation or rather to a lack of comparability between measures used in observational versus Internet-based studies remains to be further investigated. Regarding a purported association between body turns and magical thinking, our study is preliminary, as only one single question was used to probe the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
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| ISSN: | 1357650X |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1357650X.2015.1134565 |
