The right brain / left brain myth?

The right brain / left brain myth?

There are many different rumours and myths about does the right side of the brain and the left side of the brain control different things.

The left side of the brain controls the more logical thinking. “The left hemisphere is analytical and logical, it specializes in recognizing the parts, it is linear and sequential, and it processes in a step-by-step manner” (Kitchens, 1979, p. 3) Whereas the right side if the brain is more for creativity. “The right hemisphere is particularly talented and superior in visual-spatial abilities.” (Speer, 1975, p.32) “It is possible to find the relations between hemispheric dominance and creativity specially the right brain hemispheric dominance” (Weisi and Khaksar, 2015, p.385)

Although there are many myths about the two different sides of the brain but there is actually no neuroscientific evidence to prove and support the theory that the right side of our brain is for creativity and the left side of the brain is for logic. “The fact that the two halves of the brain are heavily connected to each other and are in constant communication has not stopped marketing and education gurus from encouraging us to use the right half of our brains more, since this is our innovative, creative, holistic, feminine, Eastern, yang side.” (Bruyckere, Kirschner and Hulshof, 2015, p.104)

“There is also evidence from research that shows how both halves of the brain are involved in creative processing.” (Bruyckere, Kirschner and Hulshof, 2015, p.105) There is evidence showing us that not only the right side of the brain is for creativity and the left side of the brain is for logic, there is proof stating that both sides of the brain is used for creating. “In 2004, an experiment by Singh and Boyle tested the claim that the two halves of the brain in creative people are used unequally. In their experiment, they projected letters at high speed on to the retinas of a group of young people. If participants in the experiment saw the same letter twice, they had to quickly press a button. The young people who pressed the button quickest often turned out to be the most creative as well, thereby showing that the combined working of both halves of the brain can be linked to creativity.” (Bruyckere, Kirschner and Hulshof, 2015, p.104) Goswami (2004) states that there is high cross hemisphere connections in the “normal brain” and both sides of the brain work together in “every cognitive task so far explored with neuroimaging, including language and face recognition tasks.” Research shows us that everyone uses both sides of the brain to carry out activities.

“What does the brain have to do with learning?” Bruer (1997) asked this question when he argued that brain science isn’t directly relevant to learning. Bruer (1997) argues that cognitive psychologists can build bridges between evidence from neuroscientific research and evidence from social science (education), However, he warns that while neuroscience has learned a lot about neurons and synapses, it has not learned nearly enough to guide educational practice in any meaningful way.

The terms ‘male brain’ and ‘female brain’ were used to refer to differences in cognitive style rather than biological differences (Baron-Cohen, 2003). Baron-Cohen (2003) argued that men were better ‘systemisers’ (good at understanding mechanical systems) and women were better ‘empathisers’ (good at communication and understanding others). He did not argue that male and female brains were completely different, but used the terms male and female brain as a psychological shorthand for (overlapping) cognitive profiles.

“In popular reports, ‘‘left-brained’’ and ‘‘right-brained’’ have become terms associated with both personality traits and cognitive strategies, with a ‘‘left-brained’’ individual or cognitive style typically associated with a logical, methodical approach and ‘‘right-brained’’ with a more creative, fluid, and intuitive approach. Based on the brain regions we identified as hubs in the broader left-dominant and right-dominant connectivity networks, a more consistent schema might include left-dominant connections associated with language and perception of internal stimuli, and right-dominant connections associated with attention to external stimuli…. Yet our analyses suggest that an individual brain is not ‘‘left- brained’’ or ‘‘right-brained’’ as a global property.”

(Nielson et. al. 2013, p.8)

            In conclusion, many people believe that the brain is two sided but this myth isn’t true as there is no scientific evidence whereas there is scientific proof that the two sides of the brain overlap, they are both used for creativity and logic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMSbDwpIyF4 - This video is one of many videos that supports my research and says that there is no scientific research that one side is logic and one side is creativity.

References

·      Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). The essential difference: Men, women and the extreme male brain. London: Penguin/Allen Lane.

·      Bruer, J. T. (1997). “Education and the Brain: A Bridge Too Far.” Educational Researcher 26, no. 8 (1997): 4-16.

·      De Bruyckere, P., Kirschner, P. A., & Hulshof, C. D. (2015). Urban myths about learning and education. Academic Press.

·      Kitchens, A. N. (1991). Left brain/right brain theory: Implications for developmental math instruction. Review of Research in Developmental Education, 8(3), n3.

·      Goswami, U. (2004). Neuroscience and education. British Journal of Educational Psychology 74: 1–14.

·      Nielsen, J. A., Zielinski, B. A., Ferguson, M. A., Lainhart, J. E., & Anderson, J. S. (2013). An evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging. PloS one, 8(8), e71275.

·      Sperry, R. W. (1975). Left-brain, right-brain. Saturday Review, 2(23), 30-32.

·      Weisi, H., & Khaksar, Z. (2015). The Effect of Hemispheric Dominance on Iranian EFL Learner’s Creativity in Writing. International Journal of English and Education, 4(2), 383-397.