SAN BERNADINO, CA—A team of researchers from CSU-San Bernardino studied the shoe habits of 122 kindergarten students over 2 months and found that 76% of the students put their shoes on the wrong feet 81% of the time.
“I mean, statistically speaking, I expected them to get it right maybe half of the time; that would have made more sense anyway,” said lead researcher and study author, Allison McCallister. “I was pretty much blown away by our findings.”
Another researcher, Blaine Knudsen, noted that the children didn’t seem bothered by the feel of shoes on the wrong feet. Indeed, some of them appeared almost comforted by the nonconformity. He remarked, “There were a dozen or so kids that I told to switch their shoes to the other feet and, after taking them off, put them on again on the wrong feet. This is beyond mere coincidence."
The research team noted that it didn’t make a difference if the shoes had shoelaces or were Velcro fastened, which always fasten toward the outside of the foot, seemingly a good clue for the wearer. "Maybe some of them like hurting feet," suggested Knudsen. "Sort of like, it gives them a rush of endorphins or something. That's all I can figure."
The researchers hope to be able to eventually use these findings to identify youngsters who show a tendency for masochistic behaviors, although their work is in the theoretical stage at this point.
In addition to sharing findings with mental health professionals and developmental psychologists, the study results will be presented to leading makers of children’s shoes in the hopes that some changes can be made to the design of children’s footwear. Knudsen expressed hopes that printing L and R on the shoes may be enough. But language requirements would mean 3-5 letters on each shoe, making it more, not less, confusing. “Besides, kindergartners are traditionally challenged in the right/left arena also—something my team noticed during the pledge of allegiance.”
McCallister is recommending that shoes be designed to be worn interchangeably on either foot. “Shoes that lace wouldn’t create much of a design challenge, but Velcro shoes would need double-sided openings, or maybe just a single opening right down the middle. That's an issue best left to the designers and manufacturers."
The findings weren’t universally negative, however, as Knudsen noted, “I was relieved to see that virtually none of the kids had trouble getting their socks on the correct feet.”