Likelihood to engage in risky activities is predicted by the perceived risks in mixed-handers and the perceived benefits in strong-handers

Stephen D. Christman, John D. Jasper, Varalakshmi Sontam and Bruce Cooil, Individual differences in risk perception versus risk taking: Handedness and interhemispheric interaction, Brain and Cognition, Volume 63, Issue 1, , February 2007, Pages 51-58.

Research indicates that right-hemisphere mechanisms are specifically sensitive to and averse to risk. Research also indicates that mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processing. Accordingly, it was predicted that mixed-handers would exhibit greater risk aversion. Participants were presented with various risky activities and were asked to rate (i) the perceived risk,(ii) the perceived benefit, and (iii) their likelihood to engage in each activity. No handedness differences were found for any of these ratings. Regression analyses, however,indicated that the likelihood to engage in risky activities was predicted primarily by the perceived risks in mixed-handers and by the perceived benefits in strong-handers.