I notice that researchers in Italy have published further evidence that humans show a preference for information that comes in through their right ear than that which arrives via their left. In principle this asymmetry is quite well known, and I seem to recall that this preference is not exclusive to humans. Image by adselwood This time, however, Dr. Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University "Gabriele d'Annunzio" took a somewhat novel approach.

While most previous studies have been based on laboratory settings, Tommasi and Marzoli took their studies to street, or rather to the nightclub. They were specifically examining if hearing through either ear is preferred for processing verbal information. What better place to test this in the “real world” than in the noisy world of the nightclub, and it’s great to think that they had a chance to have a bit of fun on the job.

In one study they observed patrons talking (over the loud music) and found that more than 70% of these conversations occurred on the right side of the listener. In the second study they approached strangers in a nightclub mumbled something in gibberish and waited to see which way the listener tilted their head to hear the question repeated. A little less than 60% offered their right ear.

In the third study they asked perfectly audible questions, but asked some to their right ear and some to their left. The questions were a request for a cigarette (these scientists are into neurology, not respiratory health) and they were offered more cigarettes from the cohort whose right ear heard the questions compared to the cohort whose left ear heard the question.

The results support earlier findings about right ear/left hemisphere advantages for verbal communication. It really is an interesting study, but I can’t help thinking about the researchers undertaking the fieldwork.

I’m really happy that these researchers got to have a night life (and that any expenses incurred are now tax-deductible) and I’m glad they secured some free cigarettes, but asking for a cigarette might be misconstrued, at least in a nightclub – it’s like buying a drink or asking someone in “for coffee”. There’s no mention of whether there is a correlation between the ear through which someone hears a question and the hand they choose to slap the questioner with. Perhaps more importantly there is no mention of how many hopeful clubbers had their hopes dashed when a gorgeous scientist asked them for a cigarette and then simply walked away. That’s cold. The study was published in Naturwissenschaften and you can read more about it here.