Mixed Handedness: Bridging The Gap Between Left And Right
March 11th, 2009
Email this article to a friend
Two hands can be better than one. A well-coordinated effort of both hands makes it possible to count to 255 on your fingers (FF in hexadecimal). But mixed handedness may have consequences. Photo by Hexadecimal Time.
I always thought I was left handed. Oh sure, I do some things with my right hand, but we go by the hand you write with, right?
Actually, handedness is not a binary choice, but a continuum from purely left handed to purely right handed. Researchers say that people often aren’t aware that they’re officially mixed handed.
In a common measure of handedness called the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, people are asked to perform 10 specific tasks. Doing even one of them with the other hand makes you mixed handed. I do 6 with my left, and 4 with my right, putting me towards the neutral end of the “mixed left hander” category.
There are different versions of this test floating around. One of them lets you specify different levels of hand preference, and gives you a numerical score from -1.0 for a pure left hander to +1.0 for a pure right hander, with 0.0 indicating that neither hand is preferred overall. I got -0.2, or just left of neutral.
I made this Handedness test into a web application, to spare people from the math. Give it a go. I’ll create a page listing the scores people report, so leave a comment with your score and I’ll link to you (links will be no-follow, the name you use can include branding words but must start with your real name, and your URL should point to actual content rather than an ad).
When I found out that using my right hand for so many tasks wasn’t typical for a left hander, I thought about what I do with each hand, to see if there was a pattern. There wasn’t a clear pattern, but I noticed some interesting combinations:
| Things I do left handed | Things I do right handed |
|---|---|
| Using a fork (without a knife), with a stabbing motion (like for sausage) | Using a fork (without a knife), with a scooping motion (like for rice) |
| Firing a pistol | Firing a rifle |
| Boxing | Kickboxing |
| Using a sword with one hand | Using a sword with two hands |
| Juggling an odd number of objects | Juggling an even number of objects |
Left handers are much more likely to be mixed handed than right handers are. For one thing, lefties are forced to adapt to a right handed world. Lefties also tend to have more symmetrical brains, resulting in natural mixed handedness. There are both pros and cons to mixed handedness, and I’ll write about this later, after I learn more about it.
It’s hard to distinguish between natural and learned mixed handedness. Why do I use scissors with my right hand? Is it because that’s my natural preference, or because my preschool teachers told me to? I don’t remember.
I also don’t remember the first time I used a mouse. Did I use my right hand because it was natural, or because it’s what everyone else was doing?
I’m also not sure how they decide what’s left and right handed for some things. I’m looking at a Washington Post article that shows two examples of left handed former presidents (it was written when mixed lefty Barack Obama was running against strong lefty John McCain). There’s a picture of George H.W. Bush gesturing with his left hand. OK, that’s a clear sign of left handedness. But then there’s a picture of Bill Clinton holding a microphone in his right hand and pointing with his left. That doesn’t exactly scream “Lefty!”
How do we know that pointing is more important than holding a microphone? If he gives a speech knowing that he’s not going to point, does he hold the microphone in his left hand? If you drive with just your left hand on the steering wheel, is that because you’re left handed, or because you’re keeping your dominant right hand free for more important things, like your Big Gulp in the cup holder? If you play golf the “right handed way,” are you really right handed, or could you just want your dominant left arm in front?
Anyway, back to this Handedness test. Go ahead and take it before reading these questions, so I don’t bias you.
- Writing and drawing are listed separately. Does anyone use different hands for them?
- When do you use a knife without a fork? What do you think they’re going for here? I thought about baking a loaf of bread and then slicing it. But might someone use the other hand in a knife fight?
- In the first version I saw, the broom task was listed as “using a broom (upper hand is dominant) or brushing one’s hair.” That seems a bit strange. Does anyone use different hands for these?
- Also, the jar task was listed as “opening a box or a jar lid.” Does anyone use different hands for these?
- It says you’re mixed handed if you do even one task with the other hand. The exception is a left hander using scissors with their right hand, because scissors are often designed for right handers. First, is that true? Do any left handers here use right handed scissors for ergonomic reasons? Second, if scissors aren’t a reliable indicator, then why are they on the test?
I’m curious to hear who uses what hand for what. Leave your score below if you want to, and share any interesting handedness stories you might have. The test gives the breakdown between the different types (left and right, strong and mixed) in the U.S. population. I wonder if there will be a similar breakdown among my readers.
For way, way more mixed-handed goodness, check out my ebooks Ambidextrous (for right-handers) and Ambisinistrous (for left-handers).
March 12th, 2009 at 2:24 am
I went to a left handed shop not long ago, and was a bit disappointed to find that there wasn’t anything in the shop I would actually use… I came out thinking “I’m a right hander and I never knew it!”. But it’s true, I even had to start writing with my right hand when I got RSI in my left. According to your test, I am +0.1.
I think a good measure would be what hand you use a tennis racquet with, or some other sporting equipment. I tend to use my right hand for things requiring strength and my left for things requiring delicacy, but that’s not always the case – I think I can perform most delicate operations with my right too.
For the record, I’m exactly 50/50 left brain/right brain too. It’s no fun right now – it’s making it very difficult to figure out what I want to do with my life.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I’m so totally right handed. I’ve trained myself to use a left-handed mouse, but that’s it. Everything else I do with my right hand.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post..Making suckiness good: Lab Rats Week 1
March 12th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hunter. . .
You are hilarious. And you are totally wasting your technical skill – my second time to say this (first time was about your post rehasher). You even added Tweet It, and I used it. SO silly.
Thank you for using your creativity to brighten up our day.
Akemi – Yes to Me´s last blog post..Gratitude For Emptiness, My Online Gratitude Journal #25
March 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I’m a right-hander all the way! However, when I’m doing something where I can use both hands at once – like getting food out of the fridge and cupboard at the same time – I do. Just makes chores go faster. Other than that, I’ve always been right.
Thanks for the Handedness test. It was fun and I look forward to your teaching us more about the pros and cons.
Laurie | Express Yourself to Success´s last blog post..Good Reads
March 12th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
My 10-year-old son is minus 0.4. I noticed he was left-handed early on, but I kind of wanted him to be right-handed so when he was a baby I consciously offered things to his right hand. Wonder if that helped to make him mixed-handed?
March 12th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
@ Sarah, that’s really interesting. It can be confusing to be split between left and right brained, but there are advantages too. If you keep looking for what you want to do, you’ll find it.
Tennis seems like a good task to include here. Maybe it’s correlated with throwing, so it wasn’t really a unique task to them. Just guessing.
@ Alex, now that’s unusual. What made you want to use a left handed mouse?
@ Akemi, you know I do technical stuff for a living, right? I was in a tweeting mood, so I figured I’d include a tweet link. I got quite a few new followers today! Glad you found it funny.
@ Laurie, that makes sense. Might as well put the other hand to use when possible. I’m looking forward to writing about the pros and cons too, but it will take some research and experimentation first.
@ Barbara, I think it might have. Left handers have to shake hands with their right hand, so they get used to sticking their right hand out when they might not otherwise. That probably encourages them to do other things right handed, and offering things to your son in his right hand may have too.
March 13th, 2009 at 12:42 am
Because when I used to use a mouse all day I’d seriously screw up my right shoulder. Learning to use a left-handed mouse meant I could share the strain across both sides.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post..Making suckiness good: Lab Rats Week 1
March 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am
My score was -1.0. I do everything left-handed, except my mouse. That wasn’t a question, though.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I write and draw with my left hand but do just about everything else with my right hand (except open a jar — I NEVER knew I put my left hand on the lid until I took the test). I definitely adapted to the right-handed world from a young age because I found it extremely difficult to co-exist otherwise. I did such a good job adapting that today, I sew with my right hand, cook with my right hand (Hunter – I think this is what the test means when it says use a knife without a fork), use chopsticks with my right hand, etc. In fact, I am so “right-handed” that I can’t play softball because I can only catch and throw with my right hand!
March 14th, 2009 at 9:37 am
@ Alex, when I think of RSI and such, I think of it coming from the keyboard. I didn’t realize that a mouse could do it too. I guess that’s because most of us don’t spend nearly as much time with the mouse as the keyboard. If you’re using the mouse all day, that’s different.
@ Jeanne, some people say that for a left hander, using the mouse in their right hand is the best thing to do because it keeps their left hand free for other things. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with it though!
@ Ceres, that’s an interesting split. Writing is much easier right handed, but I guess it might be the hardest thing to switch. For softball, I guess you have to learn to throw with the hand that’s holding the glove!
March 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I am +0.9, open jars with my left, but never thought about it until now. Does it count if I cannot draw well with my right or left?
March 16th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
@ Debra, I was going to say I would never open a jar with the other hand, but now that I think about it, it wouldn’t feel that awkward. If you can’t draw with either hand, that’s what we call normal!
March 31st, 2009 at 6:12 am
Interesting, brief, and thought-provoking. The handed-ness test almost compels me to log all of my activities that require my hands, and which hand plays a dominant, or singular, role. I scored -0.5, and gave myself a pat on the back, with my right hand. Fun.
I’m a left-hand forker, but when eating by hand, I hold the food with my right. Drinking glasses are held in my right. Itchy nose: right. The TP is handled with my left. I’ll pause the life story…I’m leaving now, in search of a 10,000 plus questionnaire, so thank you for this page!
@Sarah: Finesse is definitely handled with my left, but oddly, the tasks that require strength, and precision are handled by my right, albeit poorly. I can’t pound a nail at all with my left, but can’t pound it straight with my right. Thank goodness i’m not a carpenter. I’ve felt a loss at being very “OK” at the things I do regardless of which hand I use, ‘cuz it’d be cool to be good with a single hand, but I decided that what I do with my life is make my wife smile, my puppy happy, and that’s what I do with my life. Some very talented left/right handers can’t do the same.
@Debra S: I feel you on the drawing, but being closer to the middle, I choose to chicken-scratch with my left, as I LOVE having ink, pencil, and paint on my left pinky. And it is almost ingrained in people that if you say you’re a lefty, they take it easy on your penmanship and drawing. Stereotypes are bad, but I do rely on this one.
April 1st, 2009 at 9:28 pm
@ Jeff, thanks for sharing so many details about your handedness! It’s always interesting to see how it breaks down for different people.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
im a -0.3 interesting artical
May 18th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I took the test myself and got a score of +1.0 (pure righty).
You can add my score to your handedness results page if you like.
I’m sure you could learn interesting things if you got a whole lot of results and compared the results to what you know, personality-wise, about each person who took the test.
May 20th, 2009 at 7:01 am
I scored a -0.2 in this test. Left handers are supposed to use feeling, whereas right handers use logic. Generally, I do both equally. I love thinking about philosophy and yet I love science and maths. I’m not very artistic or creative but I tend to ‘learn basics’ quicker. E.g. Guitar.
Generally in sports where you use a club or a stick etc I’m right-handed.
Throwing overarm I use my right arm, underarm throw left
Cricket bowl, left hand
Tenpin Bowl, left hand
Well, it’s all confusing but it’s extremely interesting.
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:12 am
I don’t know what this means. I play tennis left. I play racquetball right. I play handball left. I throw left. I write right.
When I aim a rifle I hold it right handed, but want to use my left eye to sight.
I thought I was right handed and left armed, but the racquetball doesn’t fit that scenario.
July 20th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I’m not sure if I’m mixed handed or ambidextrous. I can do everything equally well with both hands, but I normally do some things with my left and some things with my right.
Left: Table tennis, pool, floorball, golf, fencing, eating (when I use only a fork or a spoon) to sew, to knit, play guitar and to cut things.
Right: Badminton, stir things like soup etc, throw thigs and play miniature golf.
I use both hands equally much throughout the day for tasks like: brush my teeth and hair, tie my shoe laces, ironing, catch things, do the dishes, dusting, eat (when using a fork and a knife I often switch during the meal from right-handed to left-handed). The computer mouse is switched from the left side to the right side from time to time. I can also use the scissors equally well with both hands. I even have a pair of right-handed scissors and a pair of left-handed scissors.
My handwriting is identical no matter which hand I write with.
To me it’s more strange that people can be either right or left handed.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
@ Alice, that’s very unusual, and I would call you ambidextrous. Just wondering: do you ever have trouble distinguishing left from right? Like if someone says “turn left,” do you ever get that wrong? I heard that the more symmetrical someone’s brain is, the harder it is for them to tell left from right.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:38 am
Hunter: I have trouble with that. Especially if I’m driving in new places. It doesn’t help when people yell “no, turn right” if I’ve turned left in stead of right for instance. My brother just says “no, the other left” if I’ve taken a wrong turn. That way I don’t stop and think about which way I had tured to begin with.
I also had trouble when learning which way was right, and which way was left. Everyone said: The left side is the side you have you’re watch on, and the right side is the side you write with.
That didn’t really get me very far. Like I said above, I can write equally well with both hands, and I prefer to switch my watch from left to right every now and then.
Some times, the only way I can tell for sure is by looking at a scar I got on my left hand sixteen years ago, when I was five-years-old.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:02 am
+0.3 has been my result. Less than 0.5
And i’m even a whole brained (accordin to brain tests)
July 28th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
i got -0.5. I use my right hand only for openings twistable jars and using scissors.When I broom, I often switch between hands, but feel more comfortable with left.
I’m consider myself a leftie ~ Am very artistic and perhaps equally scholastic ( at studies ). People at my school used to be surprised when they got to know I am painting with my left hand.Once in grade 6, I had a class partner(we shared the same long bench) whom I noticed was a leftie after almost a month.I have a book on Left-hander syndrome which says it’s very usual for people not to notice lefties around easily.
I used to complete my younger bro’s kindergarten alphabet writing work with my right hand. And I did that because my left hand’s, my right hand’s, and my bro’s right hand’s handwriting is quite similar ,in cursive.
I recently tried to learn writing with my right hand and found out that I mess up lesser than others trying to switch hands for writing. Maybe that’s because I have wrote a bit more than them.
August 14th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Its cool to know that others also think about the right / left situation. I write with my right , i find my self comfortable doing other things with my left , when I used to train my left side was the strongest , I always used left hand and left leg for support especially for one hand moves. I was doing a diploma in Sports and while training athletics , doing the triple jump the coach realised that I dont have a good foot and I can stopped from jumping as I used both legs equally with the same results. She told me that I would be perfect for this sports. More over I too started using the mouse with the left. Anyway I am really confused. i am sure that if I train properly like kids do I will be able to write properly withthe left too.. what do you think
August 15th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
@ Gabz, yes, I think you could learn to write properly with your left hand. It’s just a question of whether you want to.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Hi!
Do u think I might have both hemispheres of my brain equally developed? how can I find out?
Recently, I was trying to scoop the soccer ball with my right foot ‘n failed many times. I tried doin that with my left foot n did it in 1 go..I was amazed.But I still feel my right foot works better than my left..Same is with basketball..I am confused..
BUt I control the mouse with the left hand..when I use others’ computers, they get irritated finding the mouse lyin on the left side. so I try to remember to keep it back.Living in a right handed world is weird sometimes….pls do reply
August 17th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
@ Eemaan, I don’t think handedness has that much to do with developing your brain. Motor control is just one thing our brain handles. It does a lot of other stuff too. I’m sure your brain is developed enough.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
thanks hunter!
how do u take out time to reply to people’s mails in just a day??
but I was asking about being whole-brained.
I got this book ”the left-handed syndrome” sth like that from the library n found the research on lefties really interesting…U might wanna try it out
August 20th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I totally agree with Hunter Nuttall
About foot, i’m nearly totally left footed, and ambidextrous to play at football.
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Interesting article and responses. Thanks.
Just to answer an earlier question, it’s possible to throw with one hand and play tennis with another. Me. Although if the ball is just out of reach I often switch hands automatically for both tennis and squash.
I scored a +0.4. Oh and I have a real problem with left and right directions unless I’m concentrating. Now at 40, it’s certainly easier than it was when I was younger, my hand preference seems to have solidified so doing something with the other hand feels weird now. Except frisbee – oddly, I seem to have forgotten which hand I throw a frisbee with and both sides now feel kind of wrong.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:58 am
I have a score of -0.1 I can write both handed and all other things I can do with both handed so I am more Left than right?
September 24th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Based on these questions, I posted a 0.4, being a mixed right-hander, but I don’t agree. Even though I write with my right hand, I feel my left hand is the more dominant one. Yes, I do write, throw with my right hand, use the mouse with the right hand, brush teeth, use fork, but with most tasks, I use my left hand: tossing frisbees, playing air hockey, ping pong, pool (left hand on the upper end of the stick and right hand on the end), when I shovel, I shovel to the right, with my left hand on the upper end of the shovel, just like a hockey stick, also I use the left hand for video game controls, and if I played a guitar, I would have to use my left hand to handle the strings. I also use my left hand to cut food, open my Pepsi bottles. When at work, and I have to answer the phone, the phone is positioned on my left, so I can pick it up with my left hand.
This is strange though: while at amusement parks, playing the games, I use my right hand to shoot the water pistol gun, but if
it’s a game with a rifle, I have to actually shoot the trigger with my left hand and hold the rifle in my right hand. Speaking of amusement park games, whenever I play the basketball toss, my
left hand is always higher than my right hand on the ball when I
shoot.
And whenever I reach for things, it’s with my left hand
I know I can’t do any task with either hand, I’m not ambidextrous.
But overall, I feel that I’m more of a “lefty” than a “righty”. Oh, and
I was never forced at a young age to be a “righty” by my Catholic
school teachers, LOL. I always wrote right-handed. Go figure!
I think it’s both mind-boggling and fascinating at the same time
about the hand dominance. I just wish there was an explanation
already about why and how this happens. But I’m glad to hear it’s
just not me!
September 24th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Carol, I’m now turning up as +0.2, though I’d consider my left hand to be more dominant. Go figure. Regardless of the actual breakdown, at least we can agree that we’re mixed-handed!
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:49 am
try write difficult stuffs (e.g. arabic,asian languages that will say what hand you are).
October 5th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
My 12-year-old daughter took the test and was a -0.6 She does everything left-handed except write or draw. She can throw right-handed much better than I can throw left-handed (I am a +0.9) but has more strength and accuracy when she throws left-handed. She does use a mouse right-handed but I think that is a learned behavior since she shares the computer with right-handed people and just never changes it. She considers herself left-handed. She pointed out that her right hand is larger than her left, but the left side of her body is stronger and her left foot is bigger. She appears to be left-footed. She is also highly creative, imaginative, very artistic and has very advanced verbal skills.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I’m a mixed right handed (+0.3) I grew up as right handed but there were things i used to do with left. At some point, i felt the need to find a balance between right and left. There were things i learned to do (writing) and things realized i could do without learning much(drawing).
Things i could do with the right i started doing them with the left as well . And things i could do with the left i started doing them with the right. I started feeling better from then. I felt like i was fully “myself”.
With both sides i can do : writing, drawing, brushing, shaving, kicking, punching, long or jumping… I use mouse computer on both sides too.
Left exclusively: Guitar, opening jar :anything requiring strength, (my left arm and wrist are also more flexible) Hearing on the phone.
Right exclusively: any precision task (cutting, throwing) playing soccer with right foot.
One last thing :I’ve always had hesitation before locating east from west.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 am
My score was -0.8. I was strongly encouraged to write with my right hand as a child. I paint and draw with my left hand. I was always confused about which hand I should use for what, and it often depended on who was showing me how to do the task. I use a cricket bat right handed(and poorly) because my brothers showed me how to use a bat. This test was interesting because I hadn’t realised how left handed I am- Wondering whether uncoordination as a child was a result of constant quandry on which hand to use!!
January 8th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Wow I never realized there was an official “mixed handedness” I do everything with my left hand but I usually write with my right (can do both pretty well)…. I just thought I was a weird righty… My score on this test was -.2 which really surprised me (:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:34 am
My test result was -0.7. The “tennis question” is one that I have confused myself about before, as when I play cricket, I am totally right handed, (batting, bowling and throwing) but play raquet sports (tennis, squash, badminton and table tennis left handed.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:55 am
I tested as a +0.2. Though I’ve always considered myself left handed because I write with that hand, I probably do use my right hand more. I’ve discovered over the years that for most things that are primarily done in a left/right plane (writing, swinging a bat) I’m use my left. For things in a more forward/back or up/down (using scissors, throwing a ball, shooting basketball) I use my right. Crazy. I am also pretty evenly left/right brained and life is confusing when you want to be more creative but the logical side of you holds it back. If I could ever get them to work together…
January 25th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
V interesting site. I got a score of 0.1. I use my left hand for writing/drawing and using cutlery, but my right for throwing and using scissors. I have never wanted left handed scissors – I’ve always used my right hand so I guess that test is useful for me.
January 26th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
When I was 9 years old, teacher called me to the board to work a math problem. After working the problem, she said, “I thought you were left handed.” Thats the first time I realized that I perfer to do somethings right handed, like write on a chalk board. I bat, throw and catch right handed, shoot pool and golf left handed. I eat, draw and write left, shoot a pistol right, but can paint, hammer and use other handtools equally well with either hand. My dad is the only lefty out of seven siblings born to right handed parents. He is one of those “can’t do anything with his right hand” lefties. My only sibling, a brother, is likewise a strong lefty. I got the mixed handedness.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:46 am
I scored -4. What do you think about the sudy by Alina Rodrigues, et. al. that is being publicized today (1/26/10) saying that mixed handed children have more of a tendency toward difficulty with language and math, and have more “mental” issues?
January 27th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
@ Jo Ann, I have some problems with that study, starting with their claim that 1% of all people are mixed-handed. It’s really more like 42%, so I don’t know what their definition of mixed-handed is. I’ve heard that ambidextrous people may be brain damaged, and that could be true, but let’s not confuse that with being mixed-handed. Almost nobody is even close to being truly ambidextrous, especially not naturally so, far less than 1% of the population.