By TherapyNearMe.com.au | August 2025
For decades, the question of whether left-handed people are more intelligent than right-handed people has fascinated researchers, educators, and the general public. Popular culture often portrays left-handers as more creative or gifted, but does the science support this perception?
In this article, we will explore the cognitive and psychological research on handedness, break down myths and realities, and examine how left-handedness relates to intelligence, creativity, and brain structure.
1. Understanding Handedness
Handedness refers to the consistent preference for using one hand over the other for tasks such as writing, eating, and throwing. Around 10% of the global population is left-handed (Papadatou-Pastou et al., 2020).
Hand preference is linked to brain lateralisation, where certain functions are more dominant in one hemisphere. In most people, the left hemisphere controls language and fine motor skills, but in left-handers, the distribution of these functions can differ, leading to unique neural connections (Ocklenburg & Güntürkün, 2018).
2. The Myth: Left-Handed People Are Naturally Smarter
The belief that left-handed individuals are inherently smarter is largely a myth. Intelligence is influenced by complex interactions between genetics, environment, education, and lifestyle—not simply which hand you use (Neisser et al., 1996).
However, some studies have found correlations between left-handedness and divergent thinking, a form of creativity that involves generating multiple solutions to a problem (Coren, 1993). This doesn’t necessarily mean higher IQ, but it can point to different problem-solving styles.
3. What the Research Says About IQ and Handedness
Research findings are mixed:
- Some studies have found no significant differences in IQ between left- and right-handed people (Nettle, 2003).
- Others suggest a slight overrepresentation of left-handers among individuals with exceptional mathematical or verbal reasoning skills (Somers et al., 2015).
- Large-scale reviews indicate that while left-handedness may be more common among gifted populations, it is also slightly more common in individuals with certain learning difficulties (Papadatou-Pastou et al., 2020).
This suggests that handedness is more about variability in brain wiring than overall intelligence.
4. Creativity and Left-Handedness
Creativity is where left-handers often shine. Some research suggests that because left-handers may have more bilateral brain activity, they could be better at integrating information across hemispheres, potentially enhancing creativity (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2011).
Famous left-handed creatives include Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, and Jimi Hendrix—though, of course, creativity is not exclusive to left-handers.
5. Challenges Faced by Left-Handers
Being left-handed is not always advantageous. Historically, left-handers have faced social stigma and practical difficulties, especially in cultures where writing and tool use are designed for right-handed people (McManus, 2002).
Some studies also suggest a slightly higher risk of developmental disorders such as dyslexia among left-handers (Knecht et al., 2001), though the causes are not fully understood.
6. Mental Health and Handedness
There is emerging evidence that atypical brain lateralisation—more common in left-handers—may be associated with a higher susceptibility to certain mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders (Somers et al., 2015). However, these associations are not deterministic and should not be used to stereotype left-handed individuals.
7. The Takeaway
Left-handed people are not inherently smarter, but they may process information differently and have unique cognitive strengths, particularly in creativity and problem-solving.
From a mental health perspective, what matters more than handedness is the environment—supportive education, mental stimulation, and emotional wellbeing all play crucial roles in cognitive development, regardless of which hand you write with.
Keywords
are left-handed people smarter, left-handedness and intelligence, left-handed brain differences, left-handed creativity, handedness and IQ, left-handers mental health, brain lateralisation, left-handed myths, cognitive science handedness, left-handed advantages and disadvantages
References
Chrysikou, E.G. and Thompson-Schill, S.L. (2011) ‘Dissociable brain states linked to common and creative object use’, Human Brain Mapping, 32(4), pp. 665–675.
Coren, S. (1993) The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness. New York: Vintage Books.
Knecht, S. et al. (2001) ‘Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans’, Brain, 123(12), pp. 2512–2518.
McManus, I.C. (2002) Right Hand, Left Hand: The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Neisser, U. et al. (1996) ‘Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns’, American Psychologist, 51(2), pp. 77–101.
Nettle, D. (2003) ‘Handedness and human development’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(6), pp. 263–264.
Ocklenburg, S. and Güntürkün, O. (2018) The Lateralized Brain: The Neuroscience and Evolution of Hemispheric Asymmetries. London: Academic Press.
Papadatou-Pastou, M. et al. (2020) ‘Human handedness: A meta-analysis’, Psychological Bulletin, 146(6), pp. 481–524.
Somers, M., Shields, L.S. and Cash, R.F.H. (2015) ‘Handedness, language lateralisation and cognitive abilities: Meta-analytic evidence’, Neuropsychology Review, 25(2), pp. 199–215.
