Abstract
Research in the area of limb preference and brain laterality has focused on handedness, rather than lower limb preference, despite the fact that footedness has been shown to be a better predictor of language lateralization (Elias & Bryden, 1998). While the findings are inconsistent, some work has found that increased spatial ability is seen in those who are ambidextrous (Burnett, et al., 1982). How footedness may relate to spatial ability is not known. In the current experiment, 38 individuals (aged 18 to 23 years) completed six spatial tests, the Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire (WHQ), and the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire (WFQ). No relationship between spatial performance and handedness was found. With respect to footedness, some relationships were found. Overall, it was found that scores on the WFQ were significantly correlated with only performance on the Hidden Figures task. When the WHQ was used to divide individuals into footedness groups, a gender by footedness AVOVA revealed significant effects of footedness on both the Card Rotation task and the Maze Tracing task. Here, left-footedness was associated with worse performance on both of these tasks. Interestingly, dividing the sample into strong versus weak footedness showed that weak footedness was associated with worse performance on all spatial tasks. The results provide moderate support the notion that footedness may be a better predictor of the lateralization of spatial abilities compared to handedness.Acknowledgments: NSERC(PJB)