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Side preferences in human dyads when walking: the influence of country, threat, handedness, and sex

Rodway, Paul
; 
Schepman, Astrid
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Affiliation
University of Chester
EPub Date
Publication Date
2025-05-08
Submitted Date
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Psychology
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Abstract
In several species, lateral position preferences have been observed in pair mates, mother–infant dyads, and during agonistic interactions. This research examined side preferences in human dyads in an observational study and survey. We observed 1236 male–female pairs walking in the UK and found a bias for males to walk on the right side of the pair, which did not depend on hand-holding, or walking during daylight or darkness. The survey measured side preferences in 798 participants (398 left-handed, 411 right-handed), from the UK (402) and USA (396). Participants chose a side to walk when walking with their partner, or alone, in various threatening/non-threatening scenes. Threat did not influence preference in walking couples, but males, when passing a threatening stranger, preferred the best combat side for their handedness. Country and handedness also influenced preferences. Left-handers preferred the left side and right-handers preferred the right side, and USA participants exhibited a more rightward preference than UK participants. The pattern of preference for each country was equivalent, showing independent influences of handedness and cultural learning. Overall, the results suggest that males and females prefer the side that allows their dominant hand to be on the outside of the dyad.
Citation
Rodway, P., & Schepman, A. (2025). Side preferences in human dyads when walking: the influence of country, threat, handedness, and sex. Laterality, vol(issue), pages. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2025.2501089
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Journal
Laterality
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629404
DOI
10.1080/1357650x.2025.2501089
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1357-650X
EISSN
1464-0678
ISBN
ISMN
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The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding for Study 2, which was provided by an internal University of Chester grant with the grant code QR737.
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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1357650X.2025.2501089