The leftward cradling bias and prosody: An investigation of cradling preferences in the deaf community

Popular theory on the tendency to cradle an infant to the left side points to the specialization of the right hemisphere for the perception and expres sion of emotion. J. S. Sieratzki and B. Well (1996) recently suggested that more emphasis he placed on the auditory modality, specifically focusing on the role of prosodic information. In this study, the direction of the late ral cradling bias in a group of profoundly dear children, a group of deaf a dults, and a control group of adults with no hearing impairment was investi gated. The authors found a strong leftward cradling bias in all groups, a b ias that was, if anything, stronger in the deaf participants. Given that pe ople who are profoundly deaf, especially those who have been deaf from birt h, have not been exposed to auditory prosody, the data do not support the s uggestion that such prosodic information is the basis For the leftward crad ling bias.