I’m sure that most of us have heard that our personality can be determined by which side of our brain is more dominant. If you’re left brain dominant, then you’re more logical. If you’re right brain dominant, then you’re more creative. However, according to recent studies, the answer may not be as simple or fixed as we thought. The whole “right/left brain” thing may or may not be a myth, but there is no solid proof that our personality or the way we think is associated with the dominant side of our brain.
Each side of our brain does have specific functions that they perform, but research has shown that some abilities or tasks are better performed when both halves of the brain work together (1). The left side of our brain controls language, while the right side of our brain deals with spatial information and visual comprehension (1). The right hemisphere deals more with emotional language while the left hemisphere deals with the logical aspects of language such as syntax (1). However, both work hand-in-hand, communicating through the corpus callosum [white matter tissue connecting the left and right hemisphere] to perform a variety of tasks (1). This communication is key to our brain’s optimal performance.
Right Brain
The right hemisphere is known as the creative side. It’s described as performing expressive tasks such as :
Recognizing faces
Expressing emotions
Creating music
Reading emotions
Appreciating color
Using imagination
Being intuitive
Being creative
Left Brain
The left hemisphere is known as the logical and analytical side. It’s described as better doing tasks associated with :
Language
Logic
Critical thinking
Reasoning
Numbers
(1)
Does location matter? It does. The left hemisphere processes speech and language. The right hemisphere controls the left side of your body. Specific regions or lobes of the brain have specific functions, so damage to either one of them can cause severe problems. For example, damage to the occipital lobe [in the back of your brain] will cause visual impairment (2). However, there has been little to no evidence suggesting that different regions or hemispheres of the brain can affect your personality, disproving the “right/left brain” notion (2).Yes, the two hemispheres are different, but brain imaging has shown that we use both sides equally (3).
The bottom line is that although the right/left brain theory has been widely accepted and extremely popular, research has shown that the theory is outdated. There are even many quizzes online that you can take to see if you are more right dominant or left dominant. However, do know that all that should be done just for fun. The right/left brain theory is just a myth!
Works Cited
(1) Cherry, Kendra. "Left Brain vs. Right Brain Dominance." Verywell Mind, Dotdash,
10 Apr. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/left-brain-vs-right-brain-2795005.
Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
(2) Shmerling, Robert H. "Right brain/left brain, right?" Harvard Health Publishing,
Harvard University, 8 Nov. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/
right-brainleft-brain-right-2017082512222. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
(3) Frohlich, Joel. "No, You're Not Left-Brained or Right-Brained." Psychology
Today, Sussex Publishers, 15 Feb. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/
consciousness-self-organization-and-neuroscience/201802/
no-you-re-not-left-brained-or-right. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
Just talking about the right/left brain theory for fun, are you more right or left brain dominant?
I actually have no idea which category I fall under. I've taken a couple tests/quizzes but they all give me varying answers.