LATERAL EYE-MOVEMENTS TO POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECTIVE QUESTIONS: DIFFERENTIAL HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION OR DIFFERENTIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT?
Item
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Title
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LATERAL EYE-MOVEMENTS TO POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECTIVE QUESTIONS: DIFFERENTIAL HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION OR DIFFERENTIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT?
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Identifier
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AAI8203315
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identifier
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8203315
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Creator
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RAMIREZ, STEPHEN DOMINIC.
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Contributor
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Howard Ehrlichman
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study investigated the possible influence of positive and negative attitudes towards the left and right sides of the body, on lateral eye-movements in response to questions eliciting positive and negative affect. This hypothesis appeared viable because: (1) LEM research has been found to yield inconsistent results, thus, questioning the idea that LEM are indeed indicators of hemispheric activation; (2) the research supporting the Hemispheric Model which proposes that the two hemispheres are differentially lateralized for positive and negative affect can also be seen as somewhat contradictory; and (3) lateral attitudes involving the right and left hands have been quite prevalent in mankind for thousands of years.;Two groups of subjects, 20RHs and 20LHs, half of each group male and half female, were administered LEM questions designed to represent positive, negative and neutral affect. Several attitude and performance measures were administered to assess differences in attitudes towards the two sides of the body. It was expected that in response to questions eliciting positive or negative affect, the subjects would move their eyes towards the direction they felt most positive or negative about respectively.;The results indicated that right handers felt significantly more positive towards their right side as compared to their left side, while left handers felt significantly more positive towards their left side as compared to their right. Thus, the dominance of the hand was a decisive factor in the determination of the lateral attitudes.;The results of the LEM section were not decisive. The RH group, in a highly statistically significant manner moved their eyes to the right in response to questions eliciting positive affect and towards the left in response to questions eliciting negative affect. The results were supportive of both the Hemispheric Model and the Lateral Attitudes Model. The results for the LH group tended to support the Lateral Attitudes Model but the results were not clearcut. There was a trend for the left handers to show an opposite pattern of eye-movements than the right handers in that they exhibited more left and fewer right LEMs for positive as compared to negative questions. In addition, a Sign test and a t test were marginally significant in demonstrating a difference in response to positive and negative affective questions. Finally, a multiple regression analysis revealed that only handedness was predictive of LEM while the attitudinal variables were not.;These results as a whole suggest that the Lateral Attitudes Model may be a viable one as it pertains to LEMs. The opposite pattern of LEMs for the left handers does not easily fit the Hemispheric Model. Furthermore, the right handed LEM pattern is not as easily explained by the Lateral Attitudes Model as it is by the Hemispheric Model. Implications of the Lateral Attitudes Model were discussed. Recommendations for future research were offered.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
