Authors
Lesleigh E Pullman, Nabhan Refaie, Martin L Lalumière, DB Krupp
Publication date
2021/10
Journal
Evolutionary Psychology
Volume
19
Issue
4
Pages
14747049211040447
Publisher
Sage Publications
Description
Psychopathy has historically been conceptualized as a mental disorder, but there is growing evidence that it may instead be an alternative, adaptive life history strategy designed by natural selection. Although the etiology of mental disorders is not fully understood, one likely contributor is perturbations affecting neurodevelopment. Nonright-handedness is a sign of such perturbations, and therefore can be used to test these competing models. If psychopathy is a mental disorder, psychopaths should show elevated rates of nonright-handedness. However, an adaptive strategy perspective expects psychopaths to be neurologically healthy and therefore predicts typical rates of nonright-handedness. We meta-analyzed 16 studies that investigated the association between psychopathy and handedness in various populations. There was no difference in the rates of nonright-handedness between community participants …
Total citations
202220232024343