Percepttraland Motor Skills, 1990, 70, 163-172. O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
INFORMATION-PROCESSING DIFFERENCES A N D LATERALITY OF STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT COLLEGES A N D DISCIPLINES ' MARY MONFORT Department of Ctrrriczrlirm and Instruction, Central State University SAMUEL A. MARTIN AND WILLIAM FREDERICKSON Department of Psychology and Personnel Services, Central State Universily Summary.-1023 college students were assessed for hemispheric brain dominance using the paper-and-pencil test, the Human Information Processing Survey. Analysis of scores of students majoring in Advertising, Interior Design, Music, Journalism, Art, Oral Communication, and Architecture suggested a preference for right-brain hemispheric processing, while scores of students majoring in Accounting, Management, Finance, Computer Science, Mathematics, Nursing, Funeral Service, Criminal Justice, and Elementary Education suggested a preference for lefc-hemispheric strategies for processing information. The differential effects of hemispheric processing in an educational system emphas~z~ng the left-hemispheric activities of structured logic and sequential processing suggesrj repression of the intellectual development of those students who may be gener~cdyfavorable to right-hemispheric processing.
Most studies conducted within the paradigm of left-right hemispheric-processing differences have focused on the assessment of brain-behavior relationships either through the use of psychological tests and measurements, through an exploratory analysis of the anatomical development of the brain, or through the development of a metacognitive approach to processing new material. For the most part experimental and clinical investigators of cerebral functioning appear to agree on the specialization of the two hemispheres. Goldberg and Costo (1981) postdated that the right hemisphere has greater involvement in performing intermodal integration for the processing of novel stimuli and for interpreting informational complexity whereas the left hemisphere is more involved in unimodal and motor processing and the storage of compact codes. Their position proposes that the left hemisphere is superior in handling information from tasks which require fixation upon a single mode of representation or execution. Linear or serial reasoning and the interpretation of analytic cognitive structures are processing abihties characterizing the left hemisphere. Cognitive preferences such as structured assignments, verbal recall, specific facts, sequential data analysis, outlining, and logical problem solving are attributed to this hemisphere. Also, they
' Address correspondence to Dr. Mary Monfort, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Central State University, Edmond, OK 73034-0176.
164
M. MONFORT, ET AL.
hypothesize that the right hemisphere has a greater neuronal capacity to process informational complexity and greater ability to process many modes of representation within a single cognitive task. Simultaneous or parallel reasoning and the interpretation of synthetic cognitive structures are said to characterize processing by the right hemisphere. Representative cognitive processes determined by this cerebral hemisphere include open-ended assignments, timelspace relationships, summarizing, loolung for main ideas, and intuitive problem solving. While supporting the hypothesis that a dual classification of cerebral functioning is useful, it is also strongly recognized that bilateral specializations are not absolute. Cohen's (1773) studies of perceptual discrimination support this tenet. H e found that in the absence of verbal stimuli presented visually to the left hemisphere, processing occurs in a synthetic mode which suggests that both hemispheres can function in either mode. Preference of one mode over the other appears to be the underlying factor. The possibility that lateral dominance may be a predictor of one's thoice of study has been suggested both by stereotypes regarding the typical student within a major and research in the areas of vocational interest and aptitude. The following is a summary of a few comparative studies inferred to support brain-behavior relationships. Agor (1783a, 1983b) investigated the information-processing styles of 1,679 members of the American Society of Public Administration and found the dominant management style of all government managers is intuitivelintegrative. Their decisions seem to be guided by intuition, but they also showed a capacity to integrate the so-called left- and right-brain skills. Top-level managers scored higher on the right scale than middle or lower level managers. Silbey (1980) in studying 90 graduate and undergraduate students in a School of Business noted that as a group they scored significantly lower on the right-hemisphere scale and higher on the left-hemisphere scale than the national norms for the Human Information Processing Survey (Torrance, Taggart, & Taggart, 1984). Ghosh (1980) compared cognitive styles of mathematically, musically, and artistically talented adolescents, noting that the mathematically gifted students preferred the inferred left and integrated functions, the musically gifted the more right and integrated functions, and the artistically gifted showed a very distinct preference for right-hemisphere functions. Bever and Chiarello (1774) found that musically sophisticated listeners could accurately discriminate simple isolated excerpts from a tonal sequence, whereas musically naive listeners could not. This suggests that a melody is perceived as a gestalt (a right-hemisphere phenomenon) to the musically naive listener whereas the experienced listener analyzed the component parts. Finally, Losh (1983) through his analysis of the responses of 106 students in computer-programming found their scores suggested significant preference for left-hemispheric functions.
INFORMATION PROCESSING AND LATERALITY
165
The neuroanatomical studies conducted by Geschwind and Galaburda (1985a, 1985b, 1985c) suggested that cerebral lateralization is significantly linked to hereditary factors and that anomalies such as dyslexia and immune disorders such as asthma, hay fever, eczema, and arthritis are also affected. Results of postmortem analysis of the brains of male dyslexics indicated a consistent absence of the standard pattern of brain asymmetry in the language regions. Where the left hemisphere is typically larger in normal subjects, the regions of the left hemisphere were no more developed than the right hemisphere in these individuals. Also, distortions were noted in the architectural arrangement and position of neurons in the left hemisphere. Recently, Galaburda, Corsiglia, Rosen, and Sherman (1987) hypothesized that this absence of asymmetry and anomalous architectural structure resulted from greater development of the right hemisphere. Symmetrical brains differ from asymmetrical brains by having two large plana, with each planum being somewhat equivalent in area to the larger planurn of the asymmetrical cases. I n the asymmetrical brain the process of involution or neural cell loss occurs, but in symmetrical brains developmental factors interfere with the process of selection and pairing down of one of the hemispheres. Galaburda, et al. proposed that testostemne may have an effect in modifying brain asymmetry through its promotion of the growth of the smaller hemisphere. The present study examined the possible relation between hemispheric dominance and choice of college major and included comparison of scores on a paper-and-pencil test used to infer preference of hemispheric function with the students biographical information, health history and handedness.
Subjects From Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma, and the University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1023 students, 608 women, 406 men, and 9 students who did not report their sex, representing six colleges, Education, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Mathematics and Science, and Special Arts and Sciences, were given the Human Information Processing Survey (Torrance, Taggart, & Taggart, 1984) to classify students as to preference for cerebral functioning. Also, students were given a short self-report questionnaire containing items on biographical events, medical history, and handedness. The only criterion for selection of subjects was classification as upperclassmen and/or graduate students who had declared a major in the areas being considered in this study.
Materials The Human Processing Information Survey was designed to assess individuals in terms of their processing preferences. This paper-and-pencil survey
166
M. MONFORT, ETAL
contains 40 items each with three forced-choice selections. Two of the three choices are diametrically opposed to one another and are inferred to indicate either a left hemisphere or a right hemisphere preference. Questions on the test designed to tap left-brain functions included preferences for structured assignments, conformity, systematic discovery, recall of verbal material, specific facts, sequential data, outlining, drawing conclusions, solving problems logically and improving upon an invention. The third choice has been associated with inferred integrated brain-hemisphere processing. The order of the three alternatives is randomized to minimize a pattern associated with A, B, and C choices. To maintain consistency of administration one examiner administered all tests, introducing and explaining the procedure from a prepared text. Two sessions were required for each department. In accordance with policies and procedures for the protection of human subjects in research activities, students were identified only by their departments and were not required to participate. Findings were subsequently reported to participants through their instructors. Each subject's responses were scored the numbers as indicating- preferences of choices identified on the survey on the left, right, or integrated functions. The three specified choices for inferred brain dominance were combined with five college/departments, namely, Education, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Mathematics and Science, and Special Arts and Sciences, to form a 3 x 5 w i t h n - and between-groups factorial design. The number of subjects per cell, means, and standard deviations for this design are listed in Table 1. Data in this design were analyzed using the SPSSX (SPSS, Inc., 1988) procedure MANOVA. Summarized in Table 2, the analysis of variance indicated significant main effects for the independent-groups measure of major college of these students (F,,,,= 8.05, p < .001) and for the repeated-measure of inferred brain dominance (F,,,,,, = 98.75, p
INFORMATION-PROCESSING DIFFERENCES A N D LATERALITY OF STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT COLLEGES A N D DISCIPLINES ' MARY MONFORT Department of Ctrrriczrlirm and Instruction, Central State University SAMUEL A. MARTIN AND WILLIAM FREDERICKSON Department of Psychology and Personnel Services, Central State Universily Summary.-1023 college students were assessed for hemispheric brain dominance using the paper-and-pencil test, the Human Information Processing Survey. Analysis of scores of students majoring in Advertising, Interior Design, Music, Journalism, Art, Oral Communication, and Architecture suggested a preference for right-brain hemispheric processing, while scores of students majoring in Accounting, Management, Finance, Computer Science, Mathematics, Nursing, Funeral Service, Criminal Justice, and Elementary Education suggested a preference for lefc-hemispheric strategies for processing information. The differential effects of hemispheric processing in an educational system emphas~z~ng the left-hemispheric activities of structured logic and sequential processing suggesrj repression of the intellectual development of those students who may be gener~cdyfavorable to right-hemispheric processing.
Most studies conducted within the paradigm of left-right hemispheric-processing differences have focused on the assessment of brain-behavior relationships either through the use of psychological tests and measurements, through an exploratory analysis of the anatomical development of the brain, or through the development of a metacognitive approach to processing new material. For the most part experimental and clinical investigators of cerebral functioning appear to agree on the specialization of the two hemispheres. Goldberg and Costo (1981) postdated that the right hemisphere has greater involvement in performing intermodal integration for the processing of novel stimuli and for interpreting informational complexity whereas the left hemisphere is more involved in unimodal and motor processing and the storage of compact codes. Their position proposes that the left hemisphere is superior in handling information from tasks which require fixation upon a single mode of representation or execution. Linear or serial reasoning and the interpretation of analytic cognitive structures are processing abihties characterizing the left hemisphere. Cognitive preferences such as structured assignments, verbal recall, specific facts, sequential data analysis, outlining, and logical problem solving are attributed to this hemisphere. Also, they
' Address correspondence to Dr. Mary Monfort, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Central State University, Edmond, OK 73034-0176.
164
M. MONFORT, ET AL.
hypothesize that the right hemisphere has a greater neuronal capacity to process informational complexity and greater ability to process many modes of representation within a single cognitive task. Simultaneous or parallel reasoning and the interpretation of synthetic cognitive structures are said to characterize processing by the right hemisphere. Representative cognitive processes determined by this cerebral hemisphere include open-ended assignments, timelspace relationships, summarizing, loolung for main ideas, and intuitive problem solving. While supporting the hypothesis that a dual classification of cerebral functioning is useful, it is also strongly recognized that bilateral specializations are not absolute. Cohen's (1773) studies of perceptual discrimination support this tenet. H e found that in the absence of verbal stimuli presented visually to the left hemisphere, processing occurs in a synthetic mode which suggests that both hemispheres can function in either mode. Preference of one mode over the other appears to be the underlying factor. The possibility that lateral dominance may be a predictor of one's thoice of study has been suggested both by stereotypes regarding the typical student within a major and research in the areas of vocational interest and aptitude. The following is a summary of a few comparative studies inferred to support brain-behavior relationships. Agor (1783a, 1983b) investigated the information-processing styles of 1,679 members of the American Society of Public Administration and found the dominant management style of all government managers is intuitivelintegrative. Their decisions seem to be guided by intuition, but they also showed a capacity to integrate the so-called left- and right-brain skills. Top-level managers scored higher on the right scale than middle or lower level managers. Silbey (1980) in studying 90 graduate and undergraduate students in a School of Business noted that as a group they scored significantly lower on the right-hemisphere scale and higher on the left-hemisphere scale than the national norms for the Human Information Processing Survey (Torrance, Taggart, & Taggart, 1984). Ghosh (1980) compared cognitive styles of mathematically, musically, and artistically talented adolescents, noting that the mathematically gifted students preferred the inferred left and integrated functions, the musically gifted the more right and integrated functions, and the artistically gifted showed a very distinct preference for right-hemisphere functions. Bever and Chiarello (1774) found that musically sophisticated listeners could accurately discriminate simple isolated excerpts from a tonal sequence, whereas musically naive listeners could not. This suggests that a melody is perceived as a gestalt (a right-hemisphere phenomenon) to the musically naive listener whereas the experienced listener analyzed the component parts. Finally, Losh (1983) through his analysis of the responses of 106 students in computer-programming found their scores suggested significant preference for left-hemispheric functions.
INFORMATION PROCESSING AND LATERALITY
165
The neuroanatomical studies conducted by Geschwind and Galaburda (1985a, 1985b, 1985c) suggested that cerebral lateralization is significantly linked to hereditary factors and that anomalies such as dyslexia and immune disorders such as asthma, hay fever, eczema, and arthritis are also affected. Results of postmortem analysis of the brains of male dyslexics indicated a consistent absence of the standard pattern of brain asymmetry in the language regions. Where the left hemisphere is typically larger in normal subjects, the regions of the left hemisphere were no more developed than the right hemisphere in these individuals. Also, distortions were noted in the architectural arrangement and position of neurons in the left hemisphere. Recently, Galaburda, Corsiglia, Rosen, and Sherman (1987) hypothesized that this absence of asymmetry and anomalous architectural structure resulted from greater development of the right hemisphere. Symmetrical brains differ from asymmetrical brains by having two large plana, with each planum being somewhat equivalent in area to the larger planurn of the asymmetrical cases. I n the asymmetrical brain the process of involution or neural cell loss occurs, but in symmetrical brains developmental factors interfere with the process of selection and pairing down of one of the hemispheres. Galaburda, et al. proposed that testostemne may have an effect in modifying brain asymmetry through its promotion of the growth of the smaller hemisphere. The present study examined the possible relation between hemispheric dominance and choice of college major and included comparison of scores on a paper-and-pencil test used to infer preference of hemispheric function with the students biographical information, health history and handedness.
Subjects From Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma, and the University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1023 students, 608 women, 406 men, and 9 students who did not report their sex, representing six colleges, Education, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Mathematics and Science, and Special Arts and Sciences, were given the Human Information Processing Survey (Torrance, Taggart, & Taggart, 1984) to classify students as to preference for cerebral functioning. Also, students were given a short self-report questionnaire containing items on biographical events, medical history, and handedness. The only criterion for selection of subjects was classification as upperclassmen and/or graduate students who had declared a major in the areas being considered in this study.
Materials The Human Processing Information Survey was designed to assess individuals in terms of their processing preferences. This paper-and-pencil survey
166
M. MONFORT, ETAL
contains 40 items each with three forced-choice selections. Two of the three choices are diametrically opposed to one another and are inferred to indicate either a left hemisphere or a right hemisphere preference. Questions on the test designed to tap left-brain functions included preferences for structured assignments, conformity, systematic discovery, recall of verbal material, specific facts, sequential data, outlining, drawing conclusions, solving problems logically and improving upon an invention. The third choice has been associated with inferred integrated brain-hemisphere processing. The order of the three alternatives is randomized to minimize a pattern associated with A, B, and C choices. To maintain consistency of administration one examiner administered all tests, introducing and explaining the procedure from a prepared text. Two sessions were required for each department. In accordance with policies and procedures for the protection of human subjects in research activities, students were identified only by their departments and were not required to participate. Findings were subsequently reported to participants through their instructors. Each subject's responses were scored the numbers as indicating- preferences of choices identified on the survey on the left, right, or integrated functions. The three specified choices for inferred brain dominance were combined with five college/departments, namely, Education, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Mathematics and Science, and Special Arts and Sciences, to form a 3 x 5 w i t h n - and between-groups factorial design. The number of subjects per cell, means, and standard deviations for this design are listed in Table 1. Data in this design were analyzed using the SPSSX (SPSS, Inc., 1988) procedure MANOVA. Summarized in Table 2, the analysis of variance indicated significant main effects for the independent-groups measure of major college of these students (F,,,,= 8.05, p < .001) and for the repeated-measure of inferred brain dominance (F,,,,,, = 98.75, p
