Left handers outperform right handers on a pitch memory task

Abstract

Subjects were presented with a test tone, followed by six interpolated tones and then by a second test tone; and they judged whether the test tones were the same or different in pitch. The test tones were either identical or they differed by a semitone. The experiment employed 76 right handers and 53 left handers, balanced for sex and musical experience. The left-handed group was found to display a significantly higher overall performance level, and also a significantly higher variance. It appears that left handers tend to be less susceptible to the disruptive effects of interpolated tones, at least when these can be ignored.