Interhemispheric Communication and Emotional Reactivity

Negative emotions involve right hemisphere activation, while positive emotions involve left hemisphere activation (Borod, 1992). Researchers (e.g., Galin, 1974) have further hypothesized that emotional regulation is associated with lefthemisphere activation. Thus, regulation of negative emotion would require interhemispheric communication. These studies examined whether individual differences in interhemispheric communication predicted emotional reactivity. In Study 1, participants completed the Emotional Contagion Scale (Doherty, 1997) and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Oldfield, 1971), and "stronghandedness" (i.e., low interhemispheric communication) showed a positive relationship with contagion to negative emotions (e.g., fear, anger, and sadness). In Study 2, strong-handedness positively correlated with test anxiety.