Ozdemir Sevinc

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HAND AND FOOT PREFERENCES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relations between hand and foot preferences in male and female individuals (343 male, 290 female) aged between 18–42 years (22.11 ± 2.07). Of the right-handed men, 75.5% preferred the right foot, 7.1% the left foot, and 17.4% both feet. Of ambidextrous men, 44.0% preferred the right foot, 28.0% the left foot, and 28.0% both feet. Of left-handed men, 32.3% preferred the right foot, 56.9% the left foot, and 10.8% both feet. The differences between these percentages were found to be statistically significant. Of the right-handed women, 89.9% preferred the right foot, left foot 1.2%, both feet 8.9%, whereas 50.0% preferred the right foot, 12.5% the left foot, and 37.5% both feet in the ambidextrous women. In the left-handed women, 8.8% preferred the right foot, 79.4% the left foot, and 11.8% both feet. The differences between these percentages were found to be statistically significant. The results suggested that the cultural differences among the different study groups may be the reason for the inconsistencies with regard to hand and foot preferences. Moreover, the results may bring insight into the foot preference in relation to hand preference in the Turkish population.