{"id":60,"date":"2015-09-04T02:17:47","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T02:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/cognitiveneurof\/?p=60"},"modified":"2015-09-16T21:50:02","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T21:50:02","slug":"60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/cognitiveneurof\/2015\/09\/04\/60\/","title":{"rendered":"Hemispheric Dominance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"liveuniversity\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the quest to understand why it is we do the things we do, people have often turned to fads\u00a0<\/span>such as horoscopes. \u00a0Among these cultural fictions, the concept of hemispheric dominance has taken\u00a0<\/span>hold, convincing people that the way they understand information, interact with others, make choices,\u00a0<\/span>and process emotions all depends on one thing: whether you are \u201cLeft-Brained\u201d or \u201cRight-Brained\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>
\nLaterality is a separation of tasks based on what side of the brain you are looking at. However\u00a0<\/span>this doesn\u2019t mean that the other side of the brain does not contribute at all. For example, the left side of\u00a0<\/span>the brain contributes largely to understanding language, while the right side of the brain can still\u00a0<\/span>understand basic language. There\u2019s a lot of overlap of function and communication between the two\u00a0<\/span>hemispheres so it should not be assumed that one side solely controls a task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mybrainhurts\"<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The idea that personalities are determined by which side of the brain is stronger is an\u00a0entertaining pseudoscientific fact which has been perpetuated by numerous artistic creations and info\u00a0<\/span>graphs such as the one below. According to this separation of personality types \u201cRight-Brained\u201d people\u00a0<\/span>are artistic, innovative and random while \u201cLeft-Brained\u201d people are logical, rational and sequential\u00a0<\/span>thinkers. Everything from what career you choose to what music you like to listen to can supposedly be\u00a0<\/span>traced back to one hemisphere of the brain that is more powerful than the other, which is a pretty cool\u00a0<\/span>concept if you ask me.<\/span>
\nA big draw of this is it tells us about who we are and why we do the things we do. Understanding who we are and what group we belong to is an unconscious driving force behind\u00a0<\/span>why we try to identify with so many labels. It\u2019s comforting to know that we belong with \u201cthose people\u201d\u00a0<\/span>or \u201cthat group\u201d, and knowing where we fit in society helps us understand ourselves. Thats why knowing we are “left brained” and there are other people that act the way we do is so appealing. Take for example the depiction of left vs right brained people thanks to buzzfeed. (Buzzfeed Video<\/a>)<\/span>
\nThere are quizzes you can take to tell you exactly which side of the brain you use more as well as\u00a0<\/span>how much of each side you use. Similar to the numerous buzzfeed, cosmo and distractify quizzes that\u00a0<\/span>are out there, hemispheric dominance quizzes provide insight to the way you think based on\u00a0<\/span>generalizations. The way the questions are designed force you to identify with one behavior or another\u00a0<\/span>without allowing for caveats. For example: \u201cdo you identify more with faces or names?\u201d forces you to\u00a0<\/span>almost guess how you act on a consistent basis. What if sometimes you remember a face better and\u00a0<\/span>others names? It\u2019s very polarized without any middle ground.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn our experiences with the quiz, we all found the questions very extreme. This caused us to\u00a0<\/span>have a very black and white portrayal of ourselves.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn order to function in society, we need both hemispheres. Even writing this blog post requires\u00a0<\/span>creativity (a supposedly \u2018right brain\u2019 characteristic) to come up with the content, while also requiring the\u00a0<\/span>linguistics (something contributed by the left brain) to actually write the post. There\u2019s proof that both\u00a0<\/span>hemispheres are used when completing a \u2018creative task\u2019 such as painting.\u00a0<\/span>
\nAlthough these quizzes are fun to take, they imply that one hemisphere completely dominates\u00a0<\/span>over the other, everything we do. It\u2019s a oversimplification of neuroscience and how the two halves\u00a0<\/span>interact with each other. Have fun taking this quiz, but take your results with a grain of salt.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the quest to understand why it is we do the things we do, people have often turned to fads\u00a0such as horoscopes. \u00a0Among these cultural fictions, the concept of hemispheric dominance has taken\u00a0hold, convincing people that the way they…<\/p>\n

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