Left-handedness and time pressure in elite interactive ball games
According to the fighting hypothesis, frequency-dependent selection gives relatively rarer left-handers a competitive edge in duel-like contests and is suggested as one mechanism that ensured the stable maintenance of handedness polymorphism in humans. Overrepresentation of left-handers exclusively in interactive sports seems to support the hypothesis. Here, by referring to data on interactive ball sports, I propose that a left-hander's advantage is linked to the sports` underlying time pressure. The prevalence of left-handers listed in elite rankings increased from low (8.7%) to high (30.39%) time pressure sports and a distinct left-hander overrepresentation was only found in the latter (i.e. baseball, cricket and table tennis). This indicates that relative rarity and the interactive nature of a contest are not sufficient per se to evoke a left-hander advantage. Refining the fighting hypothesis is suggested to facilitate prediction and experimental verification of when and why negative frequency-dependent selection may benefit left-handedness.
© Copyright 2017 Biology letters. Royal Society Publishing. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään.
Aiheet: | urheilupeli käsi suorituskyky sulkapallo squash pöytätennis tennis baseball stressi aika huippu-urheilu huippu-urheilu |
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Aihealueet: | urheilukilpailut |
Tagging: | Linkshänder Händigkeit |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0446 |
Julkaisussa: | Biology letters |
Julkaistu: |
2017
|
Vuosikerta: | 13 |
Numero: | 20170446 |
Sivuja: | 1-4 |
Julkaisutyypit: | artikkeli |
Kieli: | englanti (kieli) |
Taso: | kehittynyt |