Development of the Open Hemispheric Brain Dominance Scale

This page is the manual for the OHBDS, to take it click here.

The Open Hemispheric Brain Dominance Scale was developed to meet the need for a free and open source measure of the so called "right brain"/"left brain" personality distinction. The biological distinction is scientifically discredited, but the personality distinction remains a popular descriptive system. The OHBDS was developed by selecting items based on correlations with five diverse other scales purported to measure the construct: the Alert Scale of Cognitive Style, the Wagner Preference Inventory, Philip Carter's test, Madeline Turgeon's questionnaire, and the Polarity Questionnaire. For each of the five scales, four items were selected on the basis of Pearson correlation from a pool of 80, yielding the 20 items of the OHBDS.

Initial considerations

A distinction between "left brained" and "right brained" thinking is popular.

The five tests were selected based on availability and convenience, they were:

  • The Alert Scale of Cognitive Style by Loren D. Crane, a 20 item forced choice scale. For the rest of this document this scale will be referenced as the Crane scale.
  • The Wagner Preference Inventory by Rudolph Wagner and Kelly Wells, a 12 item multiple choice scale. For the rest of this document this scale will be referenced as the Wagner scale.
  • The Polarity Questionnaire by Bruce Eldine Morton, a 11 item true false scale. For the rest of this document this scale will be referenced as the Morton scale.
  • The untitled left-brained right brained exercise from the book "Test and Assess Your Brain Quotient" by Philip Carter (page 171), a 40 item select 20 adjective check. For the rest of this document this scale will be referenced as the Carter scale.
  • The untitled questionnaire in the book "Right Brain/Left Brain Reflexology" by Madeleine Turgeon (page 27), a 45 item forced choice inventory. Only the first 20 items were used here though. For the rest of this document this scale will be referenced as the Turgeon scale.

    • These five scales all produced a single score and claimed this score indicated left-brained versus right-brained thinking.

    Data collection

    Data was collected through a beta version right-brained/left-brained personality test on this website. Each user was given 40 personality items then completed one of the reference scales. There were two forms of the main section (for a total of 80 items) and data collection continued until every item had at least 400 observations with each of the five reference scales.

    Appendix A: Screened items

    (click on column headers to sort) Carter Crane Morton Turgeon Wagner
    I make to-do lists. 0.12 -0.23 -0.08 0.02 0.01
    I'd rather make my own puzzle than solve someone else's. -0.19 0.15 0.1 0 0.05
    I do not need to think something is important to do my best on it. 0.06 -0.09 0.07 0 -0.03
    I dive right in, rather than read the instructions. -0.14 0.33 -0.03 0.28 -0.13
    I learn better from textbooks than lectures. -0.05 -0.14 0.05 -0.05 0.09
    I daydream all the time. -0.2 0.23 -0.07 0.04 -0.04
    I have a good memory for names. -0.02 -0.04 -0.04 -0.04 0.14
    I need to listen to music when I work. -0.05 0.18 -0.03 0.02 -0.17
    I doubt I could be hypnotized. 0.17 -0.07 0.07 0.03 0.18
    I do things my own way. 0.01 0.18 -0.08 0.02 -0.04
    I prize logic above all else. 0.38 -0.33 0.19 -0.09 0.22
    I follow my intuition. -0.1 0.17 -0.17 -0.01 -0.12
    I would prefer a class in mathematics to a class in pottery. 0.3 -0.31 0.15 -0.14 0.29
    I have a good memory for faces. 0 -0.02 -0.02 0.13 -0.02
    I never travel without a plan. 0.17 -0.32 0.11 -0.11 0.15
    I love to make music. -0.18 0.14 -0.06 0.04 -0.13
    I never show up late. 0.27 -0.41 0.05 -0.09 0.11
    I can always tell how other people are feeling. -0.06 0.01 -0.18 0.03 -0.05
    I would judge a car on its specs, rather than its looks. 0.16 -0.08 0.09 -0.22 0.08
    I don't bother to the read instructions before I start putting something together. -0.08 0.28 -0.05 0.23 -0.14
    I could not live in a mess. 0.26 -0.43 -0.14 0.09 -0.03
    I am totally random. -0.3 0.31 0.03 0.18 -0.1
    I handle things in an objective manner. 0.31 -0.16 0.13 -0.11 0.08
    I rebel against rules. -0.19 0.29 0.03 0.06 -0.08
    I do not like to change the arrangement of my room. 0.17 -0.14 0.07 -0.03 0.15
    I am bad at remembering names. -0.01 0.06 0.04 0.05 -0.15
    I am extremely good at guessing what time it is. 0.01 -0.05 -0.04 -0.01 0.04
    I like abstract art. -0.22 0.25 -0.07 0.02 -0.16
    I like working with numbers. 0.3 -0.26 0.1 -0.11 0.05
    I like working with words. -0.12 0.13 -0.04 -0.02 0.22
    I read lots of books as a child. -0.06 0.05 0 -0.03 0.19
    I play a music instrument. -0.11 0.06 0.03 -0.04 -0.08
    I don't like to just relax and do nothing. 0.15 -0.14 -0.04 0.11 0.01
    I can usually predict what people will do. -0.03 -0.09 -0.03 -0.02 0.01
    I am a creature of habit. 0.16 -0.17 -0.08 -0.05 0.05
    I am brave. 0.06 0.03 0.04 0 -0.1
    I behave in a businesslike manner. 0.31 -0.27 -0.03 -0.12 0.25
    I am difficult to understand. -0.03 0.06 -0.02 -0.03 0.07
    I always use the seatbelt. 0.12 -0.1 -0.05 -0.05 0.1
    Being told not to do something makes me want to do it more. -0.12 0.14 -0.01 0.11 -0.15
    I feel little concern for others. 0.14 -0.13 0.14 -0.04 0.09
    I have a vivid imagination. -0.15 0.2 -0.09 -0.03 -0.07
    I have no sympathy for criminals. 0.15 -0.16 0.01 -0.1 0.1
    I come up with something new. -0.1 0.21 -0.01 -0.09 -0.06
    I look down on any weakness. 0.13 -0.17 0.03 -0.04 0.12
    I carry the conversation to a higher level. 0.03 0 -0.07 -0.02 0.12
    I don't like to get involved in other people's problems. 0.15 -0.12 0.13 -0.16 0.05
    I am full of ideas. -0.08 0.19 -0.06 -0.01 -0.07
    I am calm even in tense situations. 0.15 -0.01 0.08 -0.24 0.07
    I love to think up new ways of doing things. -0.07 0.23 -0.1 -0.05 -0.06
    I am not easily disturbed by events. 0.22 -0.06 0.17 -0.23 0.04
    I ask questions that nobody else does. 0.1 0.04 -0.09 -0.02 0.13
    I am unaffected by the suffering of others. 0.14 -0.11 0.14 -0.12 0.06
    I challenge others' points of view. -0.02 0.03 -0.06 0.04 0.1
    I rarely cry during sad movies. 0.11 -0.07 0.21 -0.13 0.13
    I prefer variety to routine. -0.18 0.3 -0.06 0.01 -0.07
    I plan my life logically. 0.36 -0.44 -0.05 -0.08 0.21
    I believe in the importance of art. -0.24 0.18 -0.01 0.01 -0.1
    I believe important decisions should be based on logical reasoning. 0.26 -0.36 0.03 0 0.12
    I enjoy wild flights of fantasy. -0.15 0.26 -0.06 0.04 -0.04
    I listen to my brain rather than my heart. 0.26 -0.25 0.09 -0.17 0.17
    I need a creative outlet. -0.2 0.23 -0.11 0.03 -0.24
    I make decisions based on facts, not feelings. 0.31 -0.28 0.08 -0.2 0.22
    I leave my belongings around. -0.18 0.37 0.01 0.15 -0.01
    I do not care about pop culture. -0.02 0 0.06 -0.08 0
    I make a mess of things. -0.25 0.49 0.01 0.12 -0.01
    I am not a jealous person. 0.01 -0.07 0.24 -0.13 0.04
    I often forget to put things back in their proper place. -0.2 0.41 0.01 0.15 0.03
    I have enjoyed setting things on fire for fun. -0.08 0.13 0.01 0.02 -0.06
    I shirk my duties. -0.16 0.31 0.1 0.06 -0.09
    I think more than I talk. 0.05 -0.01 0.06 -0.23 0.05
    I do things in a half-way manner. -0.15 0.31 0.02 0.11 0.01
    I am sceptical of most claims. 0.07 -0.07 -0.04 -0.03 0.14
    I am romantic. -0.15 0.13 -0.36 0.09 -0.06
    I do not need others praise. 0.17 -0.08 0.25 -0.18 0.04
    I get stressed out easily. -0.03 0.12 -0.23 0.25 -0.06
    I play a lot of puzzle games. 0.03 -0.1 0.01 -0.11 0
    I often feel nostalgic for the past. -0.07 0.04 -0.1 0.07 -0.04
    I can't keep rhythm so well. 0.05 0.02 0.09 0.03 -0.02
    I think about the causes of my emotions. -0.03 0.08 -0.12 0.09 -0.01