Why Do We Carry a Baby in Our Left Arm?
图片来源于豆包
International researchers have been investigating since 1960 whether and why people have a preferred side when cradling a baby.
自1960年以来，国际研究人员一直在研究人们在抱婴儿时是否会有偏好的一侧，以及为什么会有这种偏好。
Some studies have demonstrated a preference, others have not.
一些研究已经证明了存在这种偏好，而另一些研究则没有发现。
"In order to explain the effect, we looked for all of the studies we could find on this topic," says Julian Packheiser.
“为了解释这种现象，我们查找了所有能找到的关于这个话题的研究，”朱利安·帕克海瑟（Julian Packheiser）说。
The Bochum-based researchers included 40 studies in their analysis.
来自波鸿的研究人员在他们的分析中纳入了40项研究。
They ultimately found that between 66 and 72 per cent of all people hold an infant with their left arm.
他们最终发现，在所有人当中，有66%到72%的人会用左臂抱婴儿。
For right-handed people, the figure is even higher at 74 per cent, while it is only 61 per cent for left-handed people.
对于右撇子来说，这个比例甚至更高，达到74%，而对于左撇子来说，这一比例仅为61%。
The ratio is similar for men and women: 64 per cent of all men and 73 per cent of all women hold a baby with their left arm.
男女的比例也类似：所有男性中有64%的人会用左臂抱婴儿，而所有女性中有73%的人会这样做。
"There may, of course, be links between gender and handedness," explains Packheiser. After all, men are 23 per cent more likely to be left-handed than women.
“当然，性别和惯用手之间可能存在联系，”帕克海瑟解释道。毕竟，男性成为左撇子的可能性比女性高23%。
"Unfortunately, this link has not been considered in any study," says the researcher.
“遗憾的是，在任何研究中都没有考虑到这种联系，”这位研究人员说。
There has been much speculation about the reasons for the side preference.
关于这种对一侧的偏好的原因，已经有了很多猜测。
Perhaps right-handed people are only holding the baby on the left so that they have their right, more dexterous hand free.
也许右撇子用左臂抱婴儿只是为了让他们更灵巧的右手空出来。
However, since emotions are primarily processed in the right hemisphere of the brain, people may also tend to move their baby into their left visual field, which is linked to the right hemisphere of the brain.
然而，由于情绪主要在大脑的右半球进行处理，人们也可能倾向于把婴儿移到自己的左视野中，而左视野与大脑的右半球相连。
This could be especially true for mothers who have already established a strong emotional bond with their child during pregnancy.
对于那些在怀孕期间就已经与孩子建立了强烈情感纽带的母亲来说，这一点可能尤其正确。
As regards men, the researchers from Bochum are comparing the results of the analysis with their own study on hugs.
至于男性，波鸿的研究人员正在将这项分析的结果与他们自己关于拥抱的研究进行比较。
During this study, they discovered that men who are uncomfortable hugging other men tend to hug each other from the left because of the strong negative emotions.
在这项研究中，他们发现，那些在拥抱其他男性时感到不自在的男性，由于强烈的负面情绪，往往会从左侧拥抱对方。
"Further studies would have to take into account the emotional context of holding babies," says Julian Packheiser.
“进一步的研究必须考虑到抱婴儿时的情感背景，”朱利安·帕克海瑟说。
翻译：豆包
整理：2025年4月11日于经典龙苑
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