The Dominant Thumb Experiment, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The purpose of the experiment was to test the theory of thumb dominance as it related to hand dominance. The basic hypothesis was that right handed people would naturally be right thumb dominant, while left handed would be left thumb dominant. The hypothesis was tested by asking people to clasp their hands together and then recording which thumb was on top. The experimental data found that there is a correlation between thumb and hand dominance.

Introduction

There is much research on the topic of handedness. This researcher found that handedness is not fixed at birth. While some postulate that there may be a genetic predisposition to handedness, others believe that this is subject to change due to the environment one is raised in. According to Molly Kalafut, “many scientists believe that handedness is genetic. According to this theory, left-handedness is a recessive gene, and right-handedness is dominant” (Kalafut, ¶13). Ms. Kalafut came to the conclusion that there are no definite conclusions as to handedness as of yet. Other findings have reported that the interaction of the two genes is responsible for this trait. The study of handedness and thumb dominance has many aspects that are left to be proven conclusively in the years to come. For the purposes of this experiment, the hypothesis for evaluation was, when asked to clasp their hands; will right handed people put their right thumb on top demonstrating right thumb dominance? By researching this hypothesis and coming to a conclusion, other areas of research such as hand/eye dominance may be studied to further enhance the handedness debate in the scientific community.

Procedure/Materials & Methods

The experiment was conducted by randomly choosing 10 subjects and asking them to clasp or fold their hands. The subjects were not provided with any background as to the reason why they were asked to clasp their hands so as not to enter a bias into the experimental procedure. Each subject was carefully observed upon clasping their hands, and the results were recorded by the tester. Results were recorded according to which thumb was placed on top, and the subjects response as to which hand they considered to be their dominant one (i.e. Are they left or right handed). Subjects were chosen entirely at random and represented a mix of groups such as age, gender, and ethnicity.

Data/Results

Of the 10 subjects tested for this experiment, 5 were right-handed with right thumb dominant, 1 was left-handed with right thumb dominant, and 4 were left-handed with left thumb dominant. This translated to 100% of the right-handed subjects having right thumb dominance, while 80% of the left-handed subjects were left thumb dominant and 20% were right thumb dominant. These results are displayed in the tables below.

Table 1.2: Summary of Data

Table 1.3: Thumb Dominance Results

Discussion

Overall, the data collected supported the hypothesis of thumb dominance being related to handedness in the subjects. The exception to this was admittedly surprising, as one subject did not follow this pattern. As the cost to study an entire population or at the very least a significantly larger sample of the population was not feasible, it was difficult to translate these results beyond this study to understand the possible reasoning behind the 20% difference found during this experiment. The experiment may have given different results with a greater subject sample to provide analysis of. Another alternative that might have resulted in different results may have been if a different percentage of males or females were sampled, as some studies have shown that left-handedness is more prevalent in males.

Conclusion

The data found in this experiment supported the hypothesis in question. Typically, right-handed subjects were right thumb dominant, while left-handed subjects were left thumb dominant. Some research supports the theory of genetic predisposition to handedness, and this may in turn further prove the thumb dominance theory as it too relates to handedness in the years to come. Experiments and studies such as this may also assist in further studies related to handedness and dominance theories as they may correlate to other areas of the body such as the eyes, ears, brain hemispheres, and more. By continuing to do experiments such as this one, more research is gathered which may in turn provide a clearer pattern over time.

References

Johnson, Wendell. “The Dominant Thumb in Relation to Stuttering, Eyedness, and Handedness.” The American Journal of Psychology Vol. 49, No. 2 (April 1937), pp. 293-297. Published by: University of Illinois Press. Retrieved September 22, 2010 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1416296

Kalafut, Molly, Left-handedness: Nature or Nurture, Blessing or Curse 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2010 from http://molly.kalafut.org/lefthanded/lefthanded.html