Hand’s Asymmetries in Fine Motor Precision and Speed Performance in Different Age Groups

Abstract

Rose (1970) showed that women had more symmetrical precision in movements in hands, whereas men performed more asymmetrically (with dominance for right hand). These findings were congruent with Ananiev’s (1968) scheme differentiated for sexes, in which for men there was a need for use of additional adaptive mechanisms (asymmetry) whereas women passed with basic ones (symmetry). Our study aimed to check the hands symmetry/asymmetry and correlations in fine motor precision and speed in both sexes and how they change in different age groups. The results of our study showed that the highest asymmetry in fine motor precision was related (for both sex groups and among all movement types) to the developmental period of life (12-17 years old) followed by group age of 64-95 due to ageing processes. In our study women performed with less asymmetry between both hands for majority of observable variables compared to men in all age groups. The highest frequency of asymmetrical performance in fine motor precision for both sexes was observed in the Frontal movement type, followed by the Transversal, and least, in the Sagittal. For the speed performance, the highest frequency of asymmetrical performance was shown in the Transversal movement type.