Cultural Difference in Side Bias: Evidence from Japan and India

Abstract

This study examined similarities and differences in side biases for Japanese (N = 697) and Indian (N = 418) subjects. The side bias questionnaire included 24 items for handedness and 4 each for footedness, eyedness, and earedness. Subjects were asked to report their preferences of a given side (such as handedness) on a 5-point scale for each item (1 = left always, 5 = right always). Log-linear analyses showed cultural differences in direction and degree of the side biases on some items, but not in the prevalence of each side bias. In both Japanese and Indian subjects, the prevalence, especially of handedness and footedness, was lower in comparison to Western data (Porac & Coren, 1981), and associations between the side biases were all significant. Predictions for the associations made by the right shift theory (Annett, 2000) fitted generally well with observed frequencies.