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Effects of upright posture on hand preference for reaching vs. the use of probing tools by tufted capuchins ( Cebus apella )
Author(s) -
Westergaard Gregory Charles,
Kuhn Heather E.,
Suomi Stephen J.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2345(1998)44:2<147::aid-ajp5>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - hand preference , quadrupedalism , preference , task (project management) , psychology , cognitive psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , laterality , developmental psychology , biology , medicine , anatomy , mathematics , statistics , management , economics
Abstract This research examined the effects of task (reaching vs. Tool use) and posture (quadrupedal vs. bipedal) on hand preference in tufted capuchins ( Cebus apella ). Regarding direction of hand preference, we found a significant main effect of posture, as the bipedal stance elicited greater use of the right hand than did the quadrupedal stance, and a significant posture × task interaction, as bipedal reaching elicited greater use of the right hand than did other postural and task conditions. Further, we found a significant main effect of task on strength of hand preference, as tool use elicited more consistent use of one hand over the other than did reaching. Our findings indicate that bipedal reaching facilitates a mild right‐hand bias in intensely manipulative primates. We speculate that this moderate bias may have been pushed in the direction of nearly exclusive right‐hand preference in most humans with the development of complex tool use. Am. J. Primatol. 44:147–153, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.