Science Experiments for Kids on Brain Dominance

Determining Dominance

• While nobody works with one side of her brain exclusively, you can still tell which one is your dominant side with a short test. People who think with the left side of their brain usually thrive on order and logic, which means they see patterns that form and the whole picture instead of receiving random bits of information. People who think with the right side of their brain are more in tune with arts and imaginative thinking. Administer a brain-dominancy test to your test subjects. Middle Tennessee State University provides a free brain dominancy test that will provide you with quick, accurate results (see resource below).

Learning Styles

• People have noticeable differences in their educational needs depending on which side of the brain they primarily use. For example, people who think in a logical manner may be able to understand subjects such as math better than someone who doesn't think logically. Determine which school subjects right-brained people and left-brained people excel at by looking at their grades in different subjects (get their permission first, though!). Administer your at-home hemisphere dominancy test beforehand to ensure you know their dominant hemisphere.

Patterns in Gender

• A simple test can determine if one gender is prone to a certain brain dominance over the others. For example, you can guess that women are more right-brain dominant than men. Test your hypothesis by gathering a group of test subjects with an equal number of women and men in the group. Administer your homemade hemispheric dominancy test to determine each person's results. Tally up the results to determine if there is a pattern. The results will tell you if more of the women are right-minded in your group than the men.

Relationships and Brain Dominancy

• Left-brain-dominant people approach relationships differently than right-brained thinkers. Create a list of scenarios that take place between the test subject and a friend. Give two solutions for each scenario. One solution should include empathetic actions and communication (for example, if the scenario involves a friend with hurt feelings, one answer you provide should detail giving comfort and soothing words). The other option should detail an evasive solution that forgoes conversation and emotion (such as changing the subject or ignoring the emotional distress of your friend). Once you determine the brain dominance of the test subject, administer the test. Determine if right-brained thinkers are more likely to give emotional support or if they will avoid the emotional display.