Birth order and hand preference in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Implications for pathological models of handedness in humans

William D. Hopkins, Jeremy F. Dahl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

The effect of birth order on hand preference was assessed in a sample of 154 captive-born chimpanzees. Subjects were classified as first, middle, or latter born using 2 classification criteria based on their birth order. Hand preference was measured using a task that elicited coordinated bimanual actions. Significant birth-order effects were found for both classification criteria, with first- and latter-bom subjects exhibiting a lesser degree of right-handedness compared with middle-born subjects. These data suggest that biological rather than sociological factors play a greater role in explaining the observed birth-order effects on hand preference in humans. DOI: 10.1037//0735-7036.114.3302

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)302-306
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Comparative Psychology
Volume114
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Psychology (miscellaneous)

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