1.29.2009

This Just In

posted by Dr. Sous Blogger

From the APA Monitor, January 2009:

Recently it's been learned that humans aren't the only species to have "handedness." It turns out, about 70% of chimps are right-handed (for movements requiring skilled coordination - in this case, fishing peanut butter out of a plastic pipe). Chimps showed much less handedness preference for unskilled movements such as reaching.

However, there are some behaviors in which chimps use almost exclusively the right hand. In 2004 a biopsychologist designed research to determine which hand chimps throw with. "Chimps usually throw at new people - they'll often throw their [excrement] at them." The scientists introduced themselves to a variety of chimps and recorded which hand each chimp used to throw feces at them. It turned out that chimps were extremely right-handed for this behavior.

Somehow, I think this explains a lot about the human chimp relatives.

And now, back to work.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll have to check next time ...


phil

Unknown said...

Deb, there's a great article in Outside magazine about the monkeys in Delhi that are taking over and are, apparently, stealing from, vandalizing the property of and ::GASP!:: murdering humans. Do you think they prefer to murder with their right hand?

deb said...

Tom, I think we should assume it's all right-handed. I'm working on a half-baked theory about dominance (bad) and right-handedness.

I'm a left-handed person trapped in a right-handed body. Who will speak for me?

I guess I should throw something.