Common Belief About Left-Handed People Debunked by Psychologists
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For decades, popular wisdom has held that left-handed people have a natural edge when it comes to creativity. But, according to new research from Cornell University, the link between left-handedness and artistic talent may be little more than myth.
"The data do not support any advantage in creative thinking for lefties," psychologist professor Daniel Casasanto said in a statement.
"In fact, there is some evidence that righties are more creative in some laboratory tests, and strong evidence that righties are overrepresented in professions that require the greatest creativity."
In their study, Casasanto and colleagues examined more than a century's worth of scientific studies, aiming to resolve a long-standing question: Are left-handed individuals inherently more creative than their right-handed peers?
However, the team found little fact to support the stereotype.
From left: Left-handed American singer and guitarist Jimi Hendix in 1970; and left-handed British musician Paul McCartney playing on stage during The Beatles', last tour in 1966.
From left: Left-handed American singer and guitarist Jimi Hendix in 1970; and left-handed British musician Paul McCartney playing on stage during The Beatles', last tour in 1966.
Getty Images
The widespread belief that left-handers—who make up roughly 10 percent of the population—are more imaginative or artistically gifted has persisted in part due to the brain's structure.
Creative thinking, especially divergent thinking—the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem—is more associated with the brain's right hemisphere, which also controls the left side of the body.
In one prior study, for example, participants performed better on divergent thinking tests after squeezing a ball with their left hand, potentially stimulating creativity-supportive brain regions.
That gave rise to the idea that left-handers might effectively conduct that experiment every time they use their dominant hand. But it seems the reality is more complex.
In their study, Casasanto and colleagues analyzed nearly 1,000 papers published since 1900 that focused on handedness and creativity. Only 17 studies, covering about 50 effect sizes, met the criteria for inclusion due to consistent data reporting and inclusion of both left- and right-handed participants.
The results of these studies indicated that handedness made little difference in performance across the most common lab tests of divergent thinking. In some cases, right-handed individuals showed a slight advantage.
The researchers also re-examined occupational data from nearly 12,000 Americans across more than 770 professions, categorizing each role based on levels of required creativity.
While artists and musicians did show a higher proportion of left-handers, other highly creative fields such as architecture did not.
"Left-handers are overrepresented among artists and musicians," the study found, "but not among architects, physicists or other professions commonly perceived as creative."
In fact, when ranked by creativity demands, professions such as physics and mathematics—comparable in creativity to fine arts because all fields were measured for originality and inductive reasoning—showed left-handers to be underrepresented.
Casasanto said that the myth likely endures due to what he called "left-handed exceptionalism"—the idea that since left-handedness is rare, and how creative genius is rare, one might explain the other.
Dr. Mosun, a consultant psychiatrist at Cassiobury Court and a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych), told Newsweek that the myth has taken hold partly because of famous left-handed individuals in the arts like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix.
"There has been this almost romantic notion that left-handed people are naturally more artistic or creative," Mosun explained.
"Historically, left handedness was seen as rare and associated with difference, which society sometimes interprets as special talent or even genius."
But according to Mosun, the persistence of the stereotype reflects a broader tendency to simplify the origins of talent.
"In reality, what this new research shows is that left-handed people aren't inherently more creative, but that doesn't take away from their individuality," she added. "It simply reminds us that creativity is influenced by so many factors—environment, education, culture, and also personality—rather than our dominant hand.
"Stereotypes like these often emerge because we look for patterns to explain the exceptional, but the truth is always more nuanced."
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about handedness? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Reference
Morgan, O., Zhao, S., & Casasanto, D. (2025). Handedness and creativity: Facts and fictions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02717-2
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