BRAIN DOMINANCE QUESTIONNAIRE (BDQ)

Experimenter’s Initial:

Subject’s Initial:

Aim

To measure the extent of brain dominance in an individual using Brain Dominance

questionnaire(BDQ).

Materials Required

1. Brain Dominance Questionnaire

2. Writing materials
3. Scoring manual

Description
Brain dominance is the reason why:
▪ You act as you do
▪ You react the way you do
▪ You learn the way you do
▪ You feel the way you feel
Every cell of the human body is ruled by the brain. The brain controls how we think,
understand, see, hear, and learn.

Differences between Left and Right Hemisphere

Brain dominance refers to a preference for using one hemisphere (side) of the brain over the
other. Our education system seems to favor a left-brain style, except for some creative
activities. Each hemisphere has it’s own separate and private sensations, its own perceptions, its
own impulses to act.

Right brained or left brained?

▪ Both sides of the brain are involved in nearly every human activity.
▪ Most people seem to have a dominant side.
▪ Our dominance is a preference, not an absolute.
▪ When learning is new, difficult, or stressful we PREFER to learn in a certain way.
▪ It seems that our brain goes on autopilot to the preferred side of the brain.

That one side of the brain even grows much bigger than the other side. In about 90% of people,
it is the left side of the brain that is dominant and bigger. Some people have a mixed dominance
and their brain grows larger on both sides.

No one is totally left-brained or totally right-brained. Just as you have a dominant hand,
dominant eye, and even a dominant foot, you probably have a dominant side of the brain. You
can and must develop both sides of your brain. The left and right hemispheres of your brain
process information in different ways. Our right and left hemispheres control the “opposite
side” of our bodies. We tend to process information using our dominant side.

Instructions
Please ensure you are in a comfortable seated position and are prepared to participate in the
intended assessment. Take the time to review the provided questionnaire, and if there are any
aspects that require clarification, kindly bring them to my attention. When responding to the
questionnaire, aim to provide your answers promptly without overthinking. There is no specific
time limit for completing the questionnaire, and please be assured that all your responses will
be treated confidentially, exclusively for academic purposes. There are no correct or incorrect
answers.

Scoring
1. Calculate the number of your "A" and "B" answers. Do not consider your "C" answers.
2. Put a - (minus) sign in front of your "A" score and a + (plus) sign in front of your "B" score.
3. Do the algebraical sum of your "A" and "B" scores.

Ex: Step 1: A=6: B=4

Step2: -6+4
Step 3: -2 (final score)

Interpretation
-15 to -13 = left-brain dominant (very strong)
-12 to -9 = left-brain dominant
-8 to -5 = moderate preference for the left
-4 to -1 = slight preference toward the left
0 = whole-brain dominance (bilateral)
+1 to +4 = slight preference toward the right dominance (bilateral)
+5 to +8 = moderate preference for the right
+9 to +12 = right-brain dominant
+13 to +15 = right-brain dominant (very strong)
FOLLOW-UP
1. Look at the descriptions below. Which sound like you? Which don't?
2. If one of the two columns seems to describe you a bit better than the other, can you think,
offhand, of any ways that this might be influencing your approach to teaching?

LEFT-BRAIN DOMINANCE RIGHT-BRAIN DOMINANCE

* analytical * global
- likes to look logically at details and facts - likes to process information as a whole
* linear, sequential * random, simultaneous
- low-intensity stimulus activates processing - higher-intensive stimulus activates
- dislikes excessive input processing
* systematic - likes rich, varied input
- makes decisions by facts, gives objective * intuitive
judgements - makes decisions based on feelings, gives
* "planner": prefers subjective judgements
organisation before working * "corrector": prefers adjustments during the
on the task task
- remains "within the task" - can go "beyond the task"
* convergent: solves problems on the basis of * divergent: solves problems through
available data imagination
and discovery

3. Now consider other descriptions of learning styles.

REFLECTIVE IMPULSIVE
* cautious * risk-taking
* more anxious = less tolerant of ambiguity * less anxious = more tolerant of ambiguity
* focus on form * focus on meaning
* focus on accuracy * focus on fluency

INTROVERT EXTROVERT
* prefers individual situations which imply use * prefers concrete experiences, contacts with
of outside
ideas and concepts, impersonal circumstances, world, social relationships, personal
logical cause/effect relationships circumstances,
* task-oriented negotiation, cooperation
* prefers abstract, impersonal, theoretical, * person-oriented
factual * prefers concrete, practical, social, artistic,
materials human-
interest materials

Discussion

Discuss your interpretations based on your subject’s score in detail.