A comparison of lefthanded and righthanded students in the acquisition of a novel motor skill

Abstract

This study created two skill leaning situations and attempted to locate any significant learning differences among righthanded and lefthanded students. A demonstration of a simple movement pattern was viewed by college students (N = 80) who then performed the required skills until mastering them. The subjects were broken down into four groups of 20 (two lefthanded and two righthanded). Subjects were exposed to models of either the same or opposite dominant hand. Trials to completion were used to determine learning rates. A one-way ANOVA indicated P<.01. The Scheffe' Post Hoc test indicated that the differences among the groups existed when left and righthanded students were taught by a righthanded model. Righthanded students learned significantly faster when they worked with a model of the same dominant hand.