Faurie Charlotte, Bonenfant Sébastien, Goldberg Marcel, Hercberg Serge, Zins Marie, Raymond Michel
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Br J Psychol. 2008 Nov;99(Pt 4):533-54. doi: 10.1348/000712608X291563. Epub 2008 Mar 7.
Left-and right-handers have coexisted since the Palaeolithic age. Hand preference is heritable. Moreover, there is extensive evidence of an association between left-handedness and several fitness costs. In this context, the persistence of the polymorphism is interesting. Here, we explore the associations between socio-economic status and handedness, analysing data from two large cohorts of adult men and women. Such associations are relevant to an evolutionary approach, as the socio-economic and the reproductive value are related. Our results partly support the hypothesis that left-handers have a socio-economic status advantage, countervailing the health issues. Although the models explain a small proportion of the variance observed, the frequency of left-handedness is significantly higher: (1) among women of higher educational level; (2) among categories of higher income; and (3) among individuals who have a higher position in the company. The importance of these findings for the evolution of the polymorphism of handedness is discussed.
自旧石器时代以来，左撇子和右撇子就一直共存。用手偏好具有遗传性。此外，有大量证据表明左撇子与多种健康代价之间存在关联。在这种情况下，这种多态性的持续存在很有意思。在此，我们通过分析来自两个成年男性和女性大型队列的数据，探究社会经济地位与用手习惯之间的关联。这种关联与进化方法相关，因为社会经济状况和生殖价值是相关的。我们的结果部分支持了左撇子具有社会经济地位优势这一假设，这抵消了健康问题。尽管这些模型只能解释所观察到的变异的一小部分，但左撇子的比例显著更高：（1）在教育水平较高的女性中；（2）在高收入群体中；（3）在公司中职位较高的个体中。我们还讨论了这些发现对于用手习惯多态性进化的重要性。
