title: Lateral preferences for hand clasping and arm folding are associated with handedness in two large-sample latent variable analyses.
abstract: Hand clasping (HC) and arm folding (AF) are bilateral limb postures which are subject to lateral preferences. Previous research suggested that left HC and left AF are "canonical" among European populations, i.e., generally preferred by right-handers. However, evidence on the associations of handedness with HC and AF to date is sparse and inconsistent, with studies mostly relying on relatively small sample sizes and arbitrary classifications of handedness. Utilizing latent class analysis for handedness classification, we present data from two large and independent middle-European samples, a discovery (n = 7,658) and replication (n = 5,062) sample. Our results indicate that right HC, not left HC, is overall preferred and that right-handedness is associated with right HC/left AF, and left- and mixed-handedness with left HC/right AF. Moreover, lateral preferences increased with age, and men had a higher preference of right HC, independent of handedness. We discuss our findings with regard to the generalizability of previous results.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, School of Psychology , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koller
authors.forename: Ingo W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Nader
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pietschnig
authors.forename: Anne H E
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Schild
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stieger
authors.forename: Elisabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Zeilinger
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voracek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001132:Arm; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011187:Posture; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Arm folding; Hand clasping; Handedness; Latent class analysis