If you haven’t completed the left-handed test yet, you can use this link to go to the survey form (it contains 12 Left/Right questions and will only take you a minute to complete).
This page gives our analysis of the surveys completed so far. By 27 May 2015 34,271 people had completed the survey and they declared their handedness as:
| Do you consider yourself to be left or right handed? | ||
| Left | 25,317 | 74% |
| Right | 3,127 | 9% |
| Both | 5,398 | 16% |
| Not answered | 433 | 1% |
| Total | 34,271 | 100% |
Of the people that consider themselves to be left-handed this is the percentage that answered each question “Left”:
| Question | % Left |
| Writing hand (we assume that the other 3% of people who consider themselves left-handed but said they write right-handed were forced to change their writing hand when they were young and have not changed it back) |
97% |
| Cutting with scissors (a lot of people mentioned that they use scissors right-handed because that was all that used to be available and they have never changed) |
70% |
| Holding a bat (one handed) | 78% |
| Eating with a spoon | 94% |
| Holding a toothbrush | 92% |
| Brushing hair | 89% |
| Eye (using a telescope) | 74% |
| Ear (using a telephone) (some people mentioned that they hold the phone to their right ear to leave their left hand free for taking notes. LHC’s Keith just gets in a tangle, holding the phone to his left ear with his right hand so he can still write with his left!) |
79% |
| Foot (kicking a ball) | 64% |
| Folding arms, which is on top | 68% |
| Clapping, which hand is on top | 81% |
| Clasping hands behind back, which hand is doing the holding | 77% |
| Throwing a ball | 77% |
| Turning the pages of a book | 74% |
| Using a bat or club two-handed (hand on bottom) (this question cause a lot of confusion with people thinking about “bottom” differently if they were holding the bat or club down, e.g. cricket or golf, or up for e.g. baseball. What we meant was the hand on the bottom being the one nearest the hitting end of the bat. If this is your left, you will be facing to your right looking over your right shoulder to see the ball coming) |
65% |
The percentage of people who consider themselves left-handed who were graded at each of our levels were:
| Grading | % of total |
| Seriously Left-Handed (>90% score) | 46% |
| Mainly left-handed (60-90% score) | 44% |
| Left but mixed-handed (40-60% score) | 7% |
| Probably a Right-Hander! (0-40%) | 3% |
The overall average score for people who consider themselves left-handed was 83%
And the number of people who scored 100% was 3,710 (15% of all the left-handers)
Of the 5,398 people who consider themselves “Both handed”, 60% use their left hand to write, 30% to cut with scissors and 67% used a phone on their left ear. Their overall weighted score was 55%.
Please add your own comments or interpretations as comments at the bottom of this page.
If you haven’t completed the left-handed test yourself yet, you can use this link to go to the survey form
Agree with both points by Terence B. Also I once saw a more involved test of overall dominance with more questions. E.g. How you place your hands to shoot a basketball, which eye you would close to sight under the ball,and which foot is in front…
I do most racquet/ club sports you swing right handed. I’m very mixed for baseball, I catch and throw with my left, (which means tranferring the ball to remove the glove, and transferring it back to throw)then I need to switch my feet to throw!
I remember at university in classes with chairs with an enlarged arm attached on the right to use as a table, other students arriving after me would assume their right to use the table surface on their right even if I had already placed my clipboard on it!
My mother owned an ironing board with a built in seat so I was taught to iron right handed and still do. I operate a mouse right handed, because I think as we live in a right handed world some things are better done as most others do, with the added benefit that if you have to use someone’s computer and the mouse is set left handed I’ll automatically default to my normal left hand. I believe that it’s best not to buy “special left handed” equipment for children because one thing’s for sure, they will always live in a right handed world and life will then be a lot more difficult if they are not able to use right handed things.
I am 64% lefthanded. I write, eat, use scissors lefthanded. I bat, bowl, throw a ball righthanded, kick a ball with my right leg. I remember when I was little,(way back when), my mom would put a sock over my left hand so I would use my right. In school, when writing, the teacher would come and turn my paper in the opposite direction. I couldn’t write that way. I would turn it back. I also, do not write “upside down”. I write over what was written and my little finger would be black with ink or pencil lead and smear what was just written. I’m sure alot of you lefthanders know what I am talking about! I too hold the phone to my right ear so I can write with my left hand. I have never used a lefthanded item. Just use to the righthanded items. Would probably find it odd to use a lefthanded item at this time of my life. Thanks for the survey, it was fun and interesting.
My left eyesight is weaker in my left eye than my right but I am still left-eye dominant. I was thrown by the question on holding a bat until Terence B. explained that we Americans hold a bat differently, so that threw my score off. The only 2 things I do right-handed are using a mouse for my computer and using an adding machine. I was taught this way in business school, back then they didn’t have the option of switching the mouse for lefty. The adding machine training has come in handy, since I can add numbers and write at the same time.
Thank you for printing the results from the left-handed survey. Its interesting to see the findings.
I think some of us who are left-handed have had to learn over our life time to adapt and use our right hands. That becomes a habit e.g. Also as we mature we may have had to adapt to use our right eye or ear due to sight and hearing deterioration but this would not have been our natural choice. In my case I think that affected my final result.
According to the test I am 75% left-handed. But I hold a phone to my right ear with my right hand so I can push buttons and write with my left. Also I have considerable loss of hearing in my left ear.
I can write mirror writing (from right to left).
Query: Is there any link between left-handedness and synesthesia?
Interesting overall, but I believe more questions need “Both” as a choice – writing (one may be a bit easier, but i do both except my signature), scissor use, brush use (bith make no difference in quality, depend on which is easier at the time), holding a bat one-handed, golf club (putter) and bat use, foot use (this is also a matter of foot-plant for me – I can’t plant right-footed, so can’t kick left-footed except drop-kick, which is often left-footed; also I always “scoop” left-footed -retrieve something under the table, etc.) In practicality / real life, I’m very much right-brained (all art made with both hands, fasten jewelry left-handed, left eye dominant, left ear dominant, eat left-handed and think left-dominant in ASL) but write mostly right-handed and have chosen right hand dominant in ASL out of force of habit. … Maybe we should have an Ambi Club?? 😉
At my rehab unit last night we enjoyed a game of shove ha’penny during which I found out to my shame that my daughter only uses her last hand for writing and right hand for everything else. I had always assumed that because she wrote LH she was totally LH and had not observed other actions.
I have just completed the Left Handed Test and scored 85% putting me in the top of the ‘Mainly Left Handed’ category, however have always considered myself in the Seriously Left Handed group. The questions relating to use of the telephone and telescope are the ones that lowered my score but, like other comments made here, I hold the phone to my right ear to be able to write notes with my left hand. Also I am ‘right-eye dominant’ so see much better through my right eye, something I didn’t associate with handedness.
I am 96%left handed.thats so cool!!!