Left Brain vs.

Right Brain
 Theory of the Brain
• Two different
sides
–Hemispheres
–Have different
“modes” of
thinking
(lateralization)
 Theory of the Brain
• Each person has a
preference for one
or the other
– Right brained or left
brained
– Some may be “whole
brained”
• Equally adept in both
modes
• Brain is “balanced”
– Schools favor left-
brain modes of
thinking
 Experiment

I need a volunteer
 Left Brain vs. Right Brain
LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN
Logical Random
Sequential Intuitive
Rational Holistic
Analysis Synthesis
Objective Subjective
Parts (Step by Step) Wholes
 Left Brain Subjects
• Math
• Language
• Writing
• Science
• Reading
• Speech
 Left Brain Thinking
• Logical
• Accuracy
• Rational
• Planned and
Structured
 Left Brain Thinking
• Established, certain
information
• Likes verbal
instruction
• Prefers multiple
choice tests
• Controls feelings
• Understands the
spoken word
 Right Brain Subjects
• Music Appreciation
(Singing)
• Art Appreciation
• Dance
• Sculpture
• Aerobics
• Interior Design
 Right Brain Thinking
• Creative
• Fantasy
• Feeling
• Perception
• Emotional
 Right Brain Thinking
• Likes open-ended questions
• Spontaneous
• Likes demonstrated instructions
(hands on)
• Free with feelings

• Damage???
 Right Brain Damage
• Difficulty with spatial
orientation
• Unaware of objects in left
visual field
• Only eat food on the right
side of the plate
• Read only the words on the
right half of the page
• Groom only the right side
of your body
 Truth
• No one person is
completely right-
brained or left-brained
• Hemispheres will
always overlap to
some degree
 When the Hemispheres Stop
Communicating??
• Epilepsy
– Have operations to
sever much of the
corpus collosum
– In theory, the person
will have two brains
• Purpose: Restrict
the Epilepsy to one
half of the brain
 When the Hemispheres Stop
Communicating??
• After surgery, each hemisphere may have a
mind of its own
– One patient said her hemispheres would
disagree on what she should wear
– One hand would button a shirt as fast as the
other was unbuttoning it
 When the Hemispheres Stop
Communicating??
• After surgery, each hemisphere may have
a mind of its own
– One man reported that one hemisphere (the
left hemisphere, which contained language
functions) liked reading, but the other did not
– If he shifted a book from his right hand to his
left hand, his left hand would put it down
 When the Hemispheres Stop
Communicating??
• Micheal Gazzaniga
– Showed that people with split brains whose
eyes are closed may be able to verbally
describe an object such as a key when they
hold it in one hand, but not when they hold it
in the other hand
– More examples on p. 78!!