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Abstract
The left-cradling bias is the tendency to cradle an infant on the left side, regardless of the individuals’ handedness, culture or ethnicity. Many studies revealed associations between socio-emotional variables and the left-side bias, suggesting that this asymmetry might be considered as a proxy of the emotional attunement between the cradling and the cradled individuals. In this study we examined whether adult females with high levels of prejudice toward a specific ethnic group would show reduced left-cradling preferences when required to cradle an infant-like doll with ethnical features of the prejudiced group. We manipulated the ethnicity of the cradled individual by asking 336 Caucasian women to cradle a White or a Black doll and then assessed their prejudice levels toward African individuals. Significant correlations were shown only in the Black doll group indicating that the more the prejudice toward Africans, the more the cradling-side preferences shifted toward the right. Furthermore, participants exhibiting low levels—but not those exhibiting high levels—of ethnic prejudice showed a significant left-cradling bias. These findings show that ethnic prejudice toward the specific ethnic group of the cradled individual can interfere with the left preference in the cradling woman. The present study corroborates our suggestion that the left-cradling bias might be considered as a natural index of a positive socio-communicative relationship between the cradling and cradled individuals. On the contrary, the right-cradling bias might be considered as a cue of the presence of affective dysfunctions in the relationship.
Highlights
With the term “left-cradling bias” we refer to the lateral preference in holding/cradling—or even imagining holding/cradling—an infant with his/her head to the left of the cradling individual’s body midline for non-feeding purposes
In this study, we examined whether women with high levels of prejudice toward a specific ethnic group would show reduced left-cradling preferences when asked to take in their arms and soothe an infant-like doll with ethnic features of the prejudiced group compared to women with low levels of prejudice and/or those asked to cradle an infant-like doll with ethnic features of their own group
Many studies proved significant left-cradling bias in mothers and nulliparous women across nations, continents and history (e.g., Alvarez 1990; Saling et al 1983; Saling and Cooke 1984), but none of them examined whether the same side preferences held true when the cradling and the cradled individuals belonged to different ethnic groups
Summary
With the term “left-cradling bias” we refer to the lateral preference in holding/cradling—or even imagining holding/cradling—an infant with his/her head to the left of the cradling individual’s body midline for non-feeding purposes. This is reflected in the studies that have appeared on the topic since the first scientific publication by Lee Salk in 1960, in many of them a more vertical posture of the infant (i.e., against one’s shoulder, with the arm flexed to protect and secure her/him) was included in such an operational definition Research showed that both women (over 65%) and men (albeit to a weaker degree) exhibit a left-side preference in cradling behavior (for reviews, see Donnot and Vauclair 2005; Packheiser et al 2019b). It has been suggested that (from the mother’s point of view) the left-cradling bias might place the infant in the cradler’s left visual hemifield, and expose their left profile, namely that containing the left hemiface (Malatesta et al 2020b), which is the one displaying the greater expressiveness and readability (Hendriks et al 2011)
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