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Jessica Brown
Dec 13, 2016
Evgeny Dubinchuk/ Shutterstock
There are many myths surrounding elusive left-handers.
While they might not be any more creative or intelligent than the general population, two things are certain for this kind.
1. Finding left-handed, plastic scissors in primary school will always take up half the lesson
2. Left-handers' personality could influence how much they earn.
The salary of left-handed workers is more likely to be influenced by their personality than right-handed employees, according to research by Marcello Sartarelli from the University of Alicante.
Sartarellirecruited 432 people (eight per cent of which were left-handed) to play a simulation where they could 'earn' money.
It tested their personality traits, as well as their abilities make good business deals and put in the right amount of effort to get it done well.
The participants' tendency to think things through, rather than jump to conclusions, was also tested.
Those who scored higher on this measure did better in the first task.
But although there was no major difference in how well left- and right-handers did on the first task, Sartarelli found a difference between personality and performance with only left-handers.
The study, Handedness, Earnings, Ability and Personality, found that extroverted left-handers earned more in the simulation than introverted left-handers, and earned less when they were neurotic.
It states:
We found a direct relationship between personality and earnings only for [left-handed people] with, for example, earnings increasing with extraversion, and an indirect positive relationship between being [left-handed], agreeableness and, for females, aspects of extraversion.
More research would be needed to determine whether this can be translated into the real world, with real-life earnings.
But at least left-handers get the special scissors.
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