Crossed dominance and its relationship to intelligence and academic achievement

Abstract

Measures of handedness have long been utilized as part of the neuropsychological assessment due to evidence that hand preference is related to cerebral dominance for language. Many lateral dominance examinations also include measurement of eye, ear, and/or foot preference, presumably for assessment of crossed laterality. Although a reliable relationship between crossed laterality and intelligence or achievement has not been demonstrated, the assumption that crossed eye/foot or eye/hand dominance predicts poor intelligence or achievement persists. In the present study, a group of 93 normal children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old were followed longitudinally. No relationship was found between crossed laterality and intelligence or achievement.