Table 2. Main results on the relationship between hand-eye laterality and sports performance and skill level.
| Study | Sport | HELP terminology | C-HELP%, UC-HELP% | Handedness assessment | Eye preference assessment | HELP and sports performance/skill level relationship | Favourable direct effects | Favourable indirect effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton, Guillon & Naroo (2015) | Golf | Crossed, Uncrossed dominance | HPA (50, 50) RA (80, 20) BA (14.4, 76.6) |
Author self-report questionnaire | Pointing Test | The distribution of C-HELP and UC-HELP was statistically different between the different skill groups | -- | C-HELP |
| Laborde et al. (2009) | Archery | Crossed, Uncrossed laterality | BA (34.1, 65.9) RA (17.7, 82.2) |
Edinburgh Inventory | Pointing Test | An analysis of variance indicated that beginners with an uncrossed pattern scored significantly more points than those with a crossed pattern | UC-HELP | -- |
| Lopez-Diaz et al. (2015) | Basketball | Crossed, Homogeneous laterality | RA (27.8, 72.2) | Harris Test | Sighting Test | Over-representation of C-HELP at young high-level basketball players. Technical effect found: the shoot mechanics should be adapted on UC-HELP players | Biomechanical effects | |
| Mann, Runswick & Allen (2016) | Cricket | Do not refer to this relation | HPA (26, 74) BA (19, 71) |
Edinburgh Inventory | Pointing Test | Technical effects found: placing the dominant hand in the top of the bat (reverse stance) offer a very significant advantage. Placing the dominant eye in front of the stance did not affect the performance | -- | -- |
| Nosek, Hurdálková & Cihlář (2018) | Biathlon | Crossed, Identical laterality | Not reported | T-116 test | T-116 test | UC-HELP shooters were more accurate | UC-HELP | |
| Pointer (2008) | Motorsports | Crossed, Uncrossed laterality | RA (31.7, 68.3) NA (30, 70) |
Author self-report questionnaire | Hole-in-the-card Test | No relation found | -- | No effects found |
| Portal & Romano (1988) | Baseball | Crossed, Uncrossed laterality | RA (35, 39) NA (18, 65) |
Direct preference observation | Pointing Test | There are twice C-HELP in the group of baseball players than in normal controls. | -- | C-HELP |
| Quevedo et al. (2014) | Multi-Sport | Crosslateral, Homolateral dominance | HPA (39.9, 61.1) | Interview | Pointing Test and Sighting Test | There are more UC-HELP shooters and C-HELP in golf and team sports than in normal population | -- | Golf and team sports: C-HELP Shooting: UC-HELP |
| Razeghi (2012) | Darts | Crosslateral, Unitaleral dominance | Not reported | Edinburgh Inventory | Hole-in-the-card and Pointing Test | No significant differences between C-HELP and UC-HELP in skill with darts | -- | No effects found |
| Shick (1971) | Basketball | Contralateral, Unilateral dominance | Not reported | Direct preference observation | Hole-in-the-card test | UC-HELP registered more lateral errors towards de side of nondominant hand | C-HELP | -- |
| Shick (1977) | Basketball | Contralateral, Unilateral dominance | RA (32.7, 67.2) | Direct preference observation | Hole-in-the-card test | No relation found on lateral errors in free- throw shooting for college women and HEL | -- | No effects found |
| Sugiyama & Lee (2005) | Golf | Crossed dextral, Pure dextral | Not reported | Hand Dominance Questionnaire | Pointing Test | . | No effects found | |
| Dallas, Mavvidis & Ziagkas (2018) | Tennis | Contralateral, Ipsilateral dominance | HPA (42, 58) | Direct preference observation | Direct preference observation through pictures | There are more C-HELP in the 50 best world tennis players than in normal populations | -- | C-HELP |
| Zouhal et al. (2018) | Soccer | Crossed, Non crossed laterality | HPA (53, 47) RA (33, 67) |
Individual laterality in sports. Azemar (2003) | Individual laterality in sports. Azemar (2003) | There are more C-HELP in the soccer elite players than in the regular group. | C-HELP | |
Note:
C-HELP, hand-eye laterality crossed profile; UC-HELP, hand-eye laterality uncrossed profile; HPA, high-performance athletes; RA, regular athletes; BA, beginner athletes; NA, non-athletes; --, not assessed.