Side preference in adults for holding infants: Contributions of sex and handedness in a test of imagination

Five hundred one right-handers (150 men, 351 women) and 53 left-handers (15 men, 38 women) were asked to imagine holding a young infant in their arms. Right-handers reported significant left-side biases-in 68% of the men and 73% of the women For left-handers, side preferences were weaker, the left-s ide bias dropping to 47% for men and 60% for women, with neither, figure di fferent from chance. The results are discussed in the context of theory and research on the Functional neuroanatomy of attention, emotional arousal, a nd the generation, maintenance, and manipulation of mental images. (C) 2000 Academic Press.