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The handedness of Kerrs and Carrs
Author(s) -
Shaw Duncan,
McManus I. C.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1993.tb02502.x
Subject(s) - carr , incidence (geometry) , psychology , left handed , laterality , audiology , developmental psychology , medicine , optics , physics , ecology , biology
The surnames Kerr and Carr have been claimed, on the basis of folkloric and etymological evidence, to be associated with an increased incidence of left‐handedness. In 1974 a survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners suggested that the incidence of left‐handedness was nearly three times as high in Kerr/Carr families as in controls. That survey was however potentially flawed by response biases. In the present study, which used better controls, no evidence was found for an increased incidence of left‐handedness in Kerrs and Carrs.