Effect of Sex of Subject and Experimenter on Hemispheric Balance

Abstract : This study explores the relationship between social variables and hemispheric laterality. We examine the effect on the hemispheric distribution of alpha brain wave activity of sex of host experimenter and sex of subject over conditions varied by presence and absence of partner agreements and disagreements. Differences in subject's alpha balance are indeed detected when host and subject are of different sex, especially if the host is male. If sex is viewed as a status characteristic, we would expect that a setting with male hosts and female subjects would lead to different physiological outcomes when compared to settings with less obvious status-related differences. However, in most conditions within this experimental setting, men and women did not exhibit significantly different hemispheric balance. (Author)