The interaction of handedness, familial sinistrality and sex on the performance of a dichotic listening task.

The contributions of handedness, familial sinistrality and sex to laterality effects on a dichotic listening task were examined. Left-handers exhibited left ear advantages, and right-handers showed right ear advantages in auditory asymmetry. These results varied with the sex and familial sinistrality of the subjects. Contradictions in the literature are discussed and are shown to occur most often when the subjects are left-handed or have a family history of left-handedness.