Are you ‘right brained’ or ‘left brained’? Although we use both the right and left hemispheres of the brain to complete our day to day routines, researchers believe that each person is naturally ‘bent’ one way more than the other.
Below are a few characteristics of each that will help you determine which side of the brain you prefer to use most. (and the preference of those you love too!)
This is a great subject for discussion and can help us understand others better.
Right Brain
- Creative
- Asks ‘why’ more often
- Finds similarities in things fairly easy
- Loves ‘color’
- Typically more emotional
- Enjoys the arts… singing, music, theatre, poetry, writing, painting, etc.
- Prefers to see ‘the whole picture’
- Loves patterns and shapes
- Willing to take risks
- Is more visual
- Loves to stay active
- Often more sensitive, both when observing others and personally
- Would rather take an essay exam than an exam requiring true or false answers
Left Brain
- Thinking is more linear
- Loves the details
- Wants to understand all the parts before considering the whole
- Prefers using reason and logic to solve problems
- Quite comfortable with numbers
- Time oriented
- Prefers exams that require right or wrong answers, rather than essay exams’
- Would rather know ‘how’ instead of ‘why’
- Prefers not to take risks
- Looks for the differences in things, rather than the similarities
- Would rather work with concrete rules and expectations
