The Influence of Handedness in Face Detection

Abstract

The brain is contralaterally organized, meaning the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body (Carlson, 2011). Handedness is highly correlated with hemisphere dominance such that it can be predicted that a right-handed individual has a dominant left hemisphere (Levy & Reid, 1978). Face recognition occurs in the right hemisphere of the brain (Reynolds & Jeeves, 1978), while face perception tends to occur in the left hemisphere (Benton, 1980). Yet, there has been no determination as to which hemisphere is specialized for face detection. Handedness also predicts which half of an image, either the right or the left, will be identified easier by an individual (Shuren, Greer, & Heilman, 1996). By comparing how fast and accurate individuals are at detecting faces in the right and left visual field against their degree of handedness and subsequent hemisphere dominance, this study seeks to discover where face detection occurs in the brain.