title: Inconsistent-handed advantage in episodic memory extends to paragraph-level materials.
abstract: Past research using handedness as a proxy for functional access to the right hemisphere demonstrates that individuals who are mixed/inconsistently handed outperform strong/consistently handed individuals when performing episodic recall tasks. However, research has generally been restricted to stimuli presented in a list format. In the present paper, we present two studies in which participants were presented with paragraph-level material and then asked to recall material from the passages. The first study was based on a classic study looking at retroactive interference with prose materials. The second was modelled on a classic experiment looking at perspective taking and the content of memory. In both studies, the classic effects were replicated and the general finding that mixed/inconsistent-handers outperform strong/consistent-handers was replicated. This suggests that considering degree of handedness may be an empirically useful means of reducing error variance in paradigms looking at memory for prose level material.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Toledo , Toledo , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Prichard
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Toledo , Toledo , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Christman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall; D011932:Reading; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Handedness; episodic memory; interhemispheric interaction; paragraph memory; text memory