Overview
- A peer-reviewed paper published Wednesday, June 10, 2026, reports that researchers recorded a counterclockwise turning preference in 32 of 33 controlled trials.
- The pattern was discovered accidentally by a University of Navarra team analyzing COVID-19 social‑distancing videos and was followed by purpose-built experiments in Spain and a replication in Japan.
- Experiments tested hundreds of participants across settings and ages and found the bias at the individual level, with children showing a stronger tendency than adults.
- The team tested obvious alternatives, including eye-patching to check visual lateralization and consideration of large-scale forces, and now favor a biomechanical explanation while planning VR and more detailed individual studies.
- The authors say the finding could affect airport, museum, and mall layouts by making flow more intuitive, but they warn against generalizing to dense crowds or emergencies until the cause is clarified.