BIPEDAL POSTURE AND HAND PREFERENCE IN HUMANS AND OTHER PRIMATES

Hand preference for quadrupedal and bipedal reaching in humans and rhe sus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was examined. and the data were compared with postural reaching data that have been reported for 8 other prima te species. Population-level biases were found toward use of the right hand for quadrupedal and bipedal reaching in humans and use of the le ft hand for quadrupedal reaching in rhesus macaques. Rhesus macaques s howed a significant shift toward greater use of the right hand for bip edal vs. quadrupedal reaching. Comparisons with other species showed s ignificant variance in the direction and strength of hand preference a cross reaching postures. The study noted right-hand biases for bipedal reaching in humans, great apes, and tufted capuchins and shifts towar d greater use of the right hand for bipedal vs. quadrupedal reaching i n great apes, tufted capuchins, and rhesus macaques. These results sug gest that posture alters both the direction and strength of primate ha nd preference and that bipedalism may have facilitated species-typical right-handedness in humans.