Hand preferences in preschool children: Reaching, pointing and symbolic gestures

Abstract

Manual asymmetries emerge very early in development and several researchers have reported a significant right-hand bias in toddlers although this bias fluctuates depending on the nature of the activity being performed. However, little is known about the further development of asymmetries in preschoolers. In this study, patterns of hand preference were assessed in 50 children aged 3-5 years for different activities, including reaching movements, pointing gestures and symbolic gestures. Contrary to what has been reported in children before 3 years of age, we did not observe any difference in the mean handedness indices obtained in each task. Moreover, the asymmetry of reaching was found to correlate with that of pointing gestures, but not with that of symbolic gestures. In relation to the results reported in infants and adults, this study may help deciphering the mechanisms controlling the development of handedness by providing measures of manual asymmetries in an age range that has been so far rather neglected.

Hand Movements in Communicative and Noncommunicative Situations in Very Young Infants: A Preliminary Study

“…Interestingly, reaching for something out of reach (communicative movement) was right-handed at 8 and 12 months, whereas reaching for something within reach occurred equally often with either hand at 4 and 8 months, and became more righthanded only at 12 months. These and other results on older children (Cochet & Vauclair, 2010;Esseily et al, 2011;Jacquet, Esseily, Rider, & Fagard, 2012;Vauclair & Imbault, 2009) seem to indicate that the development of manual asymmetries follows a different trajectory for object manipulation and communication (see Cochet et al, 2015, for a review). Yet, a few studies point to a relationship between the emergence of hand preference for grasping and the development of language.…”

“…In addition, some indication of lateralization of language production can be observed before real words are emitted, for instance in the production of communicative gestures (Trevarthen, 1996;Capirci & Volterra, 2008), or in mouth opening during babbling (Holowka & Petitto, 2002). Although some studies have looked at handedness for gestures in older infants (Cochet, Centelles, Jover, Plachta, & Vauclair, 2015;Esseily, Jacquet, & Fagard, 2011), to our knowledge, few studies have examined hand use in communicative situations during the very first months of life. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare how infants move their hands in communicative and noncommunicative situations at 2 weeks and at 3 months of age.…”

Which hand knows the “right” word? What hand selection reveals about vocabulary in pre‐and school‐aged children

“…A possible explanation for the relationship observed between right‐hand use and language development is the common left‐hemisphere lateralization of manual actions (e.g., Cochet, 2016; Cochet et al., 2015; Gonzalez & Goodale, 2009; Sacrey et al., 2013 ) and language (e.g., Kimura, 1973; Somers et al., 2015a ). There is evidence of this relationship continuing through childhood and into adulthood.…”

“…The specific example of right-hand gestures predicting receptive language (Mumford & Kita, 2016) is part of the evidence which suggests that the relationship between infant gesturing and language development could be related to the organization of motor control and language within the brain. A possible explanation for the relationship observed between righthand use and language development is the common left-hemisphere lateralization of manual actions (e.g., Cochet, 2016;Cochet et al, 2015;Gonzalez & Goodale, 2009;Sacrey et al, 2013 ) and language (e.g., Kimura, 1973;Somers et al, 2015a ). There is evidence of this relationship continuing through childhood and into adulthood.…”

The home handedness questionnaire: pilot data from preschoolers

“…The majority of work on handedness over the preschool period (3 to 5 years of age) has examined hand use preference from the child's real-time (or video recorded) actions. For example, researchers have presented objects at the midline or in line with the left or right hand to assess hand use for reaching or bimanual manipulation in preschoolers, similar to how hand preferences are measured in infants (e.g., Cochet, Centelles, Jover, Plachta, & Vauclair, 2015;Fagard & Lockman, 2005;Fagard & Marks, 2000;Rönnqvist & Domellöf, 2006;Vauclair & Imbault, 2009). In other studies, test batteries utilize a combination of items that may include actions like asking the child to pick up and throw a ball, point, sweep the floor, pick up candy, remove a lid, unzip a zipper, cut paper, and use a comb and toothbrush, among other similar actions requiring fine motor control (Annett, 1967;Bruckner, Kastner-Koller, Deimann, & Voracek, 2011;Bryden & Roy, 2006;Coren, Porac, & Duncan, 1981;Curt, De Agostini, Maccario, & Dellatolas, 1995;Dellatolas et al, 2003;Kastner-Koller, Deimann, & Bruckner, 2007;Kaufman, Zalma, & Kaufman, 1978;Longoni & Orsini, 1988;McManus et al, 1988;Miller, 1982;Oztbrk et al, 1999).…”