Grip-preference distribution among Asian-Oceanian floorball players is opposite that of European and North American players – How environmental constraints may influence human motor behaviour

Abstract

Whilst most humans are right-handed, handedness alone cannot explain the large variability observed in bimanual motor behaviour. Sport-specific motor behaviour provides a natural laboratory for laterality and motor-control research. It is common knowledge that, in floorball, European players more often play using a left-sided grip, whereas most Asian players are right-gripped, with no logical explanation. However, the exact grip-side distribution is unknown. The present study investigated the influence of environmental constraints on lateral motor behaviour by assessing geographic variabilities in floorball-specific grip preferences between European and Asian national team floorball players. A small-scale Big Data approach was utilised to collect data on lateral preferences for both field players and goalkeepers from the International Floorball Federation website. In all, data for 2,935 players representing 40 national teams from three different confederations (Europe, Asia-Oceania, and North America) were included. More than two-thirds of European and North American players preferred a left-sided grip, whereas the same number of Asian-Oceanian players preferred a right-sided grip. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first findings of such large geographic variations in any lateralised motor behaviour. No biological factors are likely responsible for the difference in lateral-preference distribution. Environmental and task-specific constraints are discussed as possible explanations.