Effects of directional habits and handedness on aesthetic preference for left and right profiles

Are aesthetic preferences associated with directional reading/writing habit s or with cerebral laterality? To answer this question, 138 right-handed an d non-right-handed Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian readers were presented with pairs of facial and bodily profiles; one member of each pair was turning to the left, and the other was turning to the right. The participants determi ned their aesthetic preferences for one member of each pair. If aesthetic p references are associated with laterality, differential preferences were ex pected for right-handers and non-right-handers. However, if these preferenc es are linked to reading/writing habits, differential preferences were expe cted for Arabic and Hebrew readers who read and write from right to left an d Russian readers who read and write from left to right. Data analyses show ed that Arabic and Hebrew readers preferred both facial and bodily profiles that turned to the right, whereas Russian readers preferred the profiles t hat turned to the left. The data were interpreted as showing that aesthetic preferences are associated primarily with reading/writing habits.