"Is the right side of the brain creative and the left academic?" Psychology Myths (Part 3 of 5)
Myth #3 People are either left-brained or right-brained "I'm not good at Math. It's 'cause I'm right-brained." "I can't draw. Because, you know, I'm left-brained." Have you heard these excuses before? They are invalid reasons because the brain is not split into a creative and an academic side . But before we tackle this myth, let's look at the real differences between the hemispheres. (If you would like to learn more about this and other myths check out 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by clicking this link) Split Brain Procedure Functions are the main difference between hemispheres (Springer & Deutsch, 1997). How do we know that? Well, there are different methods to study the brain, some of the newest ones include conducting an e lectroencephalogram (EEG), a c omputerized axial tomography (CAT), a p ositron emission tomography (PET), and a f unctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), which are dep