Are left handers more creative than right handers? In both popular belief and scientific literature, left-handedness is linked with higher creativity. Here, we evaluate whether left handers are better at divergent thinking, and whether left handers are overrepresented in creative professions, in a qualitative review supported by meta-analysis. We argue that plausible mechanisms for a creativity-handedness link can be found within influential theories of the neural basis of creativity. However, our meta-analysis does not find evidence that left or mixed handers are better at divergent thinking; in fact, right handers score slightly higher on the Alternate Uses Test. Additionally, we conclude that while left and mixed handers may be overrepresented in Art and Music, they are underrepresented in creative professions in general. We find that although both right and left handers tend to believe that left handers are more creative, this belief is not supported by the available empirical evidence.

According to a large body of research, the left and right cerebral hemispheres are specialized for different frequencies, in vision and audition, but the cause of this specialization is unknown. Here, we tested whether hemispheric asymmetries in visual perception can be explained by asymmetries in people’s tendency to perform high- and low-frequency actions with their dominant and nondominant hands, respectively (the Action Asymmetry Hypothesis [AAH]). In a large, preregistered, online study, participants (N = 1008) judged low- and high-frequency shapes presented in the left and right visual hemifields. Overall, the typical hemispheric asymmetry for high vs. low visual frequencies, which we found in right handers, was significantly reduced in left handers. Hemispheric asymmetries for high-spatial-frequency stimuli were completely reversed between right and left handers. These results provide initial support for the AAH: Frequency asymmetries in perception may be explained by frequency asymmetries in action.