The Left-Brain Right-Brain Theory

Are you Really Left or Right Brain Dominant?

Has someone ever told you that they consider themselves either left or right-brained? Maybe you’ve even taken an online test to determine which you yourself are. Are you praised for your logical prowess and referred to as ‘typically left-brained’ or is your creativity attributed to your stronger right hemisphere? But are people really either left or right-brained?

For many years, it has been common to refer to people as either left or right-brained, depending on which side of the brain is perceived as dominant in that individual. In popular culture, these labels are associated with particular personality traits: if you are left-brain dominant you are said to be more logical and analytical, whereas right brain-dominants are considered more creative and intuitive.

Yes, our brains are indeed divided into two parts, and there is no debate that each is responsible for a distinct set of operations. The left hemisphere controls the right-hand side muscles and is responsible for logical thinking around mathematics and language; the right controls the left-hand side muscles and is responsible for imagination and holistic thinking, and the list goes on.

However, the idea that your personality is determined by a dominant brain hemisphere or that a person uses one side more than the other is where fact and fiction start to blur.

The Truth Behind the Myth

Ground-breaking research has come to challenge the Left-Brain Right-Brain theory, and has found that it there is no scientific basis for saying that a person uses one side of the brain more than the other. This popular Left VS Right psychology myth grew out of observations of the human brain that have since been dramatically distorted.

In a nutshell, research has shown that the popular Left-Brain Right-Brain theory drastically oversimplifies that way the brain works, and that the brain itself does not function as dichotomously as once thought. In fact, the brain performs a wide variety of tasks in collaboration, communicating via the corpus callosum to get the job done. Functions such as mathematics, typically accredited to the left hemisphere, have shown to work best when both hemispheres work together. When tested, it was found that (on average) people do not actually use one side more than the other.

What can we Learn from this?

your brain works best when both hemispheres are strong and collaborate. If you want to improve this, brain gym has proven to be an excellent way to strengthen the connection between the hemispheres. Optimize your noggin by practicing a few simple techniques that will take you to the next level.

If you’d like to know more about brain gym, check out our blog or contact Robyn Lotz at lotzrobyn@gmail.com