A Study on Relationship between Ocular Dominance and Laterality of Hand and Ear

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between eye dominance, handedness and ear preference and to establish the consistency in the lateral preferences of the eye, hand and ear among the study population. Two hundred and ten (210) volunteer subjects, both male and female between the ages of 18-25 years were selected from the University of Benin, Ugbowo campus. The miles test, hand preference test and ear preference test were used to test for the dominant eye, hand and ear respectively. The Lateral Preference Questionnaire was also used to subjectively determine the functional laterality in the preferences of the eye, hand and ear. The data collected were subjected to tabular and statistical analysis and tested for statistical significance using Chi-Square. The studied population exhibited a highly significant correlation (P< 0.05) between ocular dominance and laterality of hand and ear. Therefore it should be taken into account that functional lateralization which occurs in paired organs of the body arises from hemispheric specialization and the cerebral dominance characteristics of the human brain, therefore, the dominant eye, hand and ear are closely related.