Intermanual transfer of learning in manual dexterity tasks: a study in Portuguese and Brazilian people

Vollständiger Abstract

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This study aims to investigate the expression of intermanual transfer of learning (IMTL) in two manual dexterity tasks (fine and global), by gender, age, direction of hand preference (HP), intensity of HP, and nationality. The task factor was also analyzed. This study evaluated 913 individuals (634 right-handers and 279 left-handers) of both genders, aged between 6 and 95 years, of Portuguese and Brazilian nationality. The HP was verified by the Dutch Handedness Questionnaire (van Strien, 2003). The fine manual dexterity (FMD) was tested through the Purdue Pegboard test (Lafayette Instruments Company, 1999), and the evaluation of the global manual dexterity (GMD) involved the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (Lafayette Instruments Company, 1998) (placement version). Results showed that IMTL was higher in the FMD task, in males, children, and Brazilians. The variables related to laterality (direction and intensity of the HP) did not show a significant effect on IMTL. In future studies, it is suggested to investigate the IMTL in order to clarify their conduct on the HP and along the age, involving in this case longitudinal investigations.