How to Tell If You Are Right-Brain Dominant

You Might Be a Right-Brain If...

Right brain info graphic
Right brain dominant students should put their creative talents to work!. Grace Fleming

Are you more creative than analytical? Do you get bored easily when teachers lecture for more than thirty minutes at a time? Are you an intuitive and empathetic person that can quickly learn about someone just by listening to them? If you answered yes to these, you may be right-brain dominant.

In general, people that are mostly analytical thinkers are thought to be "left-brained" and people that are mostly creative thinkers are thought to be "right-brained". Of course in reality, people use much more than half of their brains and no one is limited to only one way of thinking: right-brains can think artistically, left-brains logically. However, these titles can be a helpful way to learn about yourself by defining your skills and learning styles.

Characteristics of Right-Brain Students

Read the characteristics of a typical right-brain person to find out if you fit the description. You might be a right-brain if:

  • You take notes but lose them.
  • You have a hard time staying organized.
  • You struggle to make decisions.
  • You make friends easily and consider yourself a people person.
  • You easily understand humor.
  • You seem dreamy, but you're really deep in thought.
  • You like to write fiction, draw, and/or play music.
  • You are athletic.
  • You like reading and learning about mysteries.
  • You can easily see both sides of the story.
  • You lose track of time.
  • You are spontaneous.
  • You’re fun and witty.
  • You may find it hard to follow verbal directions.
  • You are unpredictable.
  • You get lost.
  • You are emotional and guided by your emotions.
  • You dislike reading directions.
  • You listen to music to focus while studying.
  • You read lying down.
  • You are interested in “the unexplained.”
  • You are philosophical and deep.

Your Classes and Your Brain

Right-brain dominant students experience school differently than their left-brained counterparts, often favoring certain subjects over others. The following descriptions are accurate for most right-brained students.

  • History: You enjoy the social aspects of history classes most. You like to explore the effects of events that happened in history and you don't mind writing essays about them.
  • Math: You can do well in math class if you apply yourself, but you get bored when answering long, complex problems. Don't let yourself shut down when you don't know the answers—keep at it! You'll be great with math with enough practice.
  • Science: Studying science is boring at first, but you grow increasingly intrigued the more you learn. You like to find answers to open-ended questions but don't care for using scientific equations and formulas.
  • English: You do well in English class, especially when it comes to reading literature and writing essays about books. You also do well in creative writing assignments. Strong grammar skills may come naturally to you.

Advice for Right-Brain Students

Though you possess many strengths as a right-brain, you also face challenges. Your creative mind makes you well-suited for inventive and artistic thinking but makes analytical thinking more difficult. Get ahead of problems you may experience by knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. Here is some advice for right-brain students.

  • Write personal essays when you have the option to choose what kind of essay you write because you are an excellent story-teller, but don't forget to practice expository writing to grow your skills.
  • Keep your daydreaming under control and don't let it cause you to procrastinate.
  • Pursue an artistic hobby.
  • Let your intuition work for you in social situations. Use your strong gut instinct to your advantage.
  • Exercise deep thinking during essay tests, but don’t ponder too long. Decide how you will answer a question and try to be concise.
  • Be creative when writing and use colorful language.
  • Use images and charts when studying. 
  • Write down directions to help you remember.
  • Learn to be more organized.
  • Don’t be overly suspicious of others. 
  • Make outlines to organize your thoughts.
  • Practice listening more intently during lectures by taking notes—don't let yourself zone out.
  • Write what you are thinking about often. This will function as both an emotional and creative outlet.
  • Put information into categories for better understanding.
  • Avoid getting bogged down by thinking of all possibilities when answering questions. In general, go with your first choice.
  • You have so much talent and great instincts, but you don’t always complete things. Practice finishing everything you start.
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Fleming, Grace. "How to Tell If You Are Right-Brain Dominant." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/right-brain-dominant-students-1857175. Fleming, Grace. (2023, April 5). How to Tell If You Are Right-Brain Dominant. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/right-brain-dominant-students-1857175 Fleming, Grace. "How to Tell If You Are Right-Brain Dominant." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/right-brain-dominant-students-1857175 (accessed March 29, 2024).