Variations in lateralized processing among right-handers: effects on patterns of cognitive performance.
Two experiments investigated whether individual differences among right-handers in patterns of lateralized processing were related to level of performance on a variety of cognitive tasks presented under non-tachistoscopic conditions. Subjects were divided into two groups of individuals, those who characteristically have greater than average right-hemisphere involvement in functioning and those who characteristically have greater than average left-hemisphere involvement. In the first experiment we examined whether characteristic individual differences in hemispheric involvement could predict performance on a facial memory task. The group with relatively greater right-hemisphere involvement had better recognition memory than the group with relatively greater left-hemisphere involvement. In the second experiment, we examined whether individual differences in hemispheric involvement could predict performance on a larger set of cognitive tasks. The groups were administered two tasks selected to evaluate left-hemisphere function and two selected to evaluate right-hemisphere function. The results indicated that the groups differed in their profile of cognitive performance. Individuals with greater than average right-hemisphere involvement in processing tended to perform better on tasks indexing right-hemisphere function than on tasks indexing left-hemisphere function, whereas the opposite was true of individuals with greater than average left-hemisphere involvement. Collectively, the results of these two experiments indicate that individual differences in lateralized performance have important implications for individual differences in patterns of cognitive ability.
Banich
M T
MT
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Elledge
V C
VC
Stolar
N
N
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D012938:Social Perception; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology