Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the incidence of leftward bias for paired organs (hand, foot, eye, and ear) in India (n = 418) and Japan (n = 697), and (b) the incidence of accident amongst individuals with leftward, rightward, and no bias across countries. The impetus for the study was obtained from a speculation that individuals with leftward bias commit more accidents than their counterparts. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire on side bias, along with a checklist on accidents (included in the questionnaire). Results showed that participants from these two countries did not differ in terms of leftward-ness for any of these forms of side bias. Left-handers were found to commit more accidents in India but not in Japan. Reanalysis of data in terms of left-, mixed-, and right-handedness indicated that mixed handers committed more accidents than extreme (left- + right-) handers in Japan but not in India.
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