New insights on handedness and creativity among artists: Data from New Guinea

Abstract

The overrepresentation of left-handers among professional Western artists has been attributed to the lateralization of the human brain, suggesting that left-handed individuals are more creative and more likely to become artists. We aimed to test this notion among a non-industrialized population. We conducted a study in the Asmat region of Papua, renowned for their abundance of wood carving artists. The participants (N = 231), of which 42% were professional artists, took part in creativity and hand skill asymmetry testing. Our study revealed a lower proportion of right-handers in these populations. Although artists demonstrated higher levels of creativity and more dexterity in both hands, we found no evidence to support the notion that left-hand skill asymmetry is associated with creativity or becoming an artist. The results of our study challenge the notion that left-handed people are more likely to become artists and that they are more creative. It could be that this effect is specific to Western populations.