Pause before you respond: Handedness influences response style on the Tower of Hanoi task

Abstract

Comparative laterality research has indicated that marmoset monkeys with a right‐hand preference take less time to respond to novel objects within a novel environment (Cameron & Rogers, 1999). This suggests that right hemisphere dominance may be associated with a more cautious cognitive style in novel situations. The present study tested this hypothesis using right‐ and left‐handed human participants to complete a three‐disk Tower of Hanoi (TOH) task. It was hypothesised that left‐handers would be slower to initiate responding. A total of 84 participants (42 left‐handers, 42 right‐handers) took part and the time taken to make the first move, completion time, and the number of moves taken to complete the task were recorded. Analysis of Variance revealed a significant main effect of handedness, with left‐handers taking longer to move the first disk and significantly fewer moves to complete the task. However, left‐handers were not significantly faster at completing the TOH, although males completed the task more quickly than females. These initial findings support the hypothesis that left‐hand dominance is associated with a more cautious cognitive style in novel problem‐solving situations.