Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

According to a large body of research, the left and right cerebral hemispheres are specialized for different frequencies, in vision and audition, but the cause of this specialization is unknown. Here, we tested whether hemispheric asymmetries in visual perception can be explained by asymmetries in people’s tendency to perform high- and low-frequency actions with their dominant and nondominant hands, respectively (the Action Asymmetry Hypothesis [AAH]). In a large, preregistered, online study, participants (N = 1008) judged low- and high-frequency shapes presented in the left and right visual hemifields. Overall, the typical hemispheric asymmetry for high vs. low visual frequencies, which we found in right handers, was significantly reduced in left handers. Hemispheric asymmetries for high-spatial-frequency stimuli were completely reversed between right and left handers. These results provide initial support for the AAH: Frequency asymmetries in perception may be explained by frequency asymmetries in action.