Inferred Hemispheric Thinking Style, Gender, and Academic Major among United Arab Emirates College Students

Abstract

To examine the relationships between the inferred hemispheric thinking style, gender, and academic major, 190 undergraduate men and women in social science and applied science classes were administered the Your Style of Learning and Thinking to assess their thinking styles. Although endorsements of an integrated style were highest for all subjects, analysis indicated men tended to endorse the right-hemisphere style items in processing information more than women, while the latter tended to endorse items of an integrated style in processing information. Applied science majors appeared to endorse items of a more right-hemisphere style in processing information than social science majors. These results were discussed in view of contemporary biological, psychosocial, and educational perspectives.

A Threefold Model of Intellectual Styles

“…Research from the past 20 years suggests that the two hemispheres are more dynamic than static and that they are more interactive than they were once believed to be. Thus, the terms "brain dominance" and "hemispheric specificity" have been gradually replaced by the terms "hemispheric style" and "hemispheric thinking style" (e.g., Albaili, 1993Albaili, , 1996Hassan and Abed, 1999). More recently, Zhang (2002e,f) cast the term "brain dominance" in yet another different light-that of mode of thinking.…”

“…Among the existing studies of brain dominance, several major findings emerge. First, male research participants are more right-brain dominant than are their female counterparts (e.g., Albaili, 1993;Helfeldt, 1983;Tan-Willman, 1981). Second, traditional schooling favors socalled left-brain dominant students while often ignoring or even penalizing so-called right-brain dominant students (e.g., Bracken et al, 1979;Torrance et al, 1976;Yellin, 1983).…”

Circadian typology and style of thinking differences

“…Torrance interpreted the concept of cerebral hemisphericity as a psychological dimension supported by neurological data and devised a self-report questionnaire: the Style Of Learning And Thinking (SOLAT) (for psychometric properties see Albaili, 1993;Torrance, McCarthy, & Kolesinski, 1988;Torrance, Reynolds, Ball, & Riegel, 1978;Torrance, Reynolds, Riegel, & Ball, 1977). This tool assesses whether an individual is a left-, right-or integrated thinker.…”

“…Hemisphericity is defined as the tendency of a person to rely on the processes associated with one rather than the other cerebral hemisphere in information processing (Albaili, 1993(Albaili, , 1996. The left hemisphere is mainly involved in information processing logically and sequentially and in dealing with verbal, analytic, temporal, and digital materials.…”

Predicting cognitive development, intellectual styles, and personaltiy traits from self-rated abilities

“…Thus, the terms bbrain dominanceQ or bhemispheric specificityQ no long seem to be appropriate. Indeed, more recent research adopting the SOLAT has been using the term bhemispheric styleQ or bhemispheric thinking styleQ (e.g., Albaili, 1993Albaili, , 1996Hassan & Abed, 1999). The study described in this paper casts the SOLAT in yet a different light, that is, in the light of modes of thinking which, I believe, is more accurate in depicting what the inventory really measures.…”