ERIE, Pa. -- As Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax and countless others have proven, there’s nothing quite like a southpaw.
However, our fascination with left-handers goes well beyond baseball. Worldwide, 11 out of every 100 people are left-handed, and countless myths persist.
Are left-handers more intelligent, creative and artistic than their right-handed peers? Are they inherently more talented when it comes to athletics? Can forcing a left-hander to write with his or her right hand damage the brain?
Clare Porac will answer these questions and others when the Colloquium Series in Psychological Sciences and Human Behavior returns to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Thursday, Sept. 24.
Porac, a professor of psychology at Penn State Behrend, has authored more than 60 articles and conference papers on human laterality research, and she currently serves on the editorial boards of two of the major journals dealing with human laterality: Laterality as well as Brain and Cognition. During her presentation, she will discuss her research findings, which confirm certain myths surrounding left-handedness while dispelling others.
Porac’s talk, “Everybody’s Right, so What’s Left? Exploring the Enigma of Left-Handedness,” begins at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 in Room 180 of the college’s Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center, 5101 Jordan Road. Admission is free and open to the public.
Her presentation is hosted by Penn State Behrend’s bachelor of arts and bachelor of science in psychology degree programs and the student Psychology Coalition, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the student activity fee. For additional information, contact Carol Wilson, associate professor of psychology, at 814-898-6082 or clw33@psu.edu.