Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

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The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) is a system to measure and describe thinking preferences in people, developed by William "Ned" Herrmann while leading management education at General Electric's Crotonville facility. It is a type of cognitive style measurement and model, and is often compared to psychological pseudoscientific assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, [1] [2] Learning Orientation Questionnaire, [3] DISC assessment, [4] and others. [5]

Contents

Brain dominance model

In his brain dominance model, Herrmann identifies four different modes of thinking:

Key words: logical, factual, critical, technical, quantitative.
Preferred activities: collecting data, analysis, understanding how things work, judging ideas based on facts, criteria and logical reasoning.
Key words: safekeeping, structured, organized, complexity or detailed, planned.
Preferred activities: following directions, detail-oriented work, step-by-step problem solving, organization, implementation.
Key words: kinesthetic, emotional, spiritual, sensory, feeling.
Preferred activities: listening to and expressing ideas, looking for personal meaning, sensory input, group interaction.
Key words: visual, holistic, intuitive, innovative, conceptual.
Preferred activities: looking at the big picture, taking initiative, challenging assumptions, visuals, metaphoric thinking, creative problem solving, long-term thinking.

His theory was based on theories of the modularity of cognitive functions, including well-documented specializations in the brain's cerebral cortex and limbic systems, and the research into left-right brain lateralization by Roger Wolcott Sperry, Robert Ornstein, Henry Mintzberg, and Michael Gazzaniga. [6] These theories were further developed to reflect a metaphor for how individuals think and learn. Use of that metaphor brought later criticism by brain researchers such as Terence Hines for being overly simplistic, though advocates argue that the metaphorical construct has been beneficial in organizational contexts including business and government.

Herrmann also coined the concept Whole Brain Thinking as a description of flexibility in using thinking styles that one may cultivate in individuals or in organizations allowing the situational use of all four styles of thinking. [7]

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

The format of the instrument is a 116-question online assessment, which determines the degree of preference for each of the model's four styles of thinking. More than one style may be dominant (or a primary preference) at once in this model. [8] [9] For example, in Herrmann's presentation a person may have strong preferences in both analytical and sequential styles of thinking but lesser preferences in interpersonal or imaginative modes, though he asserts all people use all styles to varying degrees.

A 1985 dissertation by C. Bunderson, currently CEO of the non-profit EduMetrics Institute [10] asserts that "four stable, discrete clusters of preference exist", "scores derived from the instrument are valid indicators of the four clusters", and "The scores permit valid inferences about a person's preferences and avoidances for each of these clusters of mental activity". [11]

Consulting and training

Based on the HBDI Assessment and Whole Brain model, Herrmann International and its global affiliates offer consulting and solutions (including workshops, programs, books and games) to improve personal or group communication, creativity, and other benefits. [12]

Critiques

Self reporting

Measurements that require people to state preferences between terms have received criticism. Researchers C. W. Allinson and J. Hayes, in their own 1996 publication of a competing cognitive style indicator called Cognitive Style Index [13] in the peer reviewed Journal of Management Studies, noted that "there appears to be little or no published independent evaluation of several self-report measures developed as management training tools. [including] Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument." [14]

However, some find usefulness in self reporting measurements. Researchers G.P. Hodgkinson and E. Sadler-Smith in 2003 found cognitive style indicators generally useful for studying organizations. [13] However, in a critique of the Cognitive Style Index indicator they opined that progress in the field had been "hampered by a proliferation of alternative constructs and assessment instruments" many unreliable with a lack of agreement over nomenclature. [13]

To measure self-report consistency, a differential item functioning review of HBDI was published in 2007 by Jared Lees. However, his tests were supported by EduMetrics, a company on contract with Herrmann International to evaluate the system, and were therefore not completely independent. [15]

Lateralization

Herrmann International describes an underlying basis for HBDI in the lateralization of brain function theory championed by Gazzaniga and others that associates each of the four thinking styles with a particular locus in the human brain. [16] Analytical and sequential styles are associated with left brain and interpersonal and imaginative styles are associated with right brain, for example. Ned Herrmann described dominance of a particular thinking style with dominance with a portion of a brain hemisphere. [7]

The notion of hemisphere dominance attracted some criticism from the neuroscience community, notably by Terence Hines who called it "pop psychology" based on unpublished EEG data. [17] [18] He asserts that current literature instead found that both hemispheres are always involved in cognitive tasks [17] and attempting to strengthen a specific hemisphere does not improve creativity, for example. [19] Hines stated "No evidence is presented to show that these 'brain dominance measures' measure anything related to the differences between the two hemispheres. In other words, no evidence of validity [of hemisphere dominance] is presented.". [9]

Creativity

Herrmann offered creativity workshops based on leveraging all the quadrants within the Whole Brain Model, rather than focusing on physiological attributes. strengthening particular thinking styles and strengthening the right hemisphere, which received critiques that creativity is not localized to a particular thinking style nor to a particular hemisphere. [20] [21]

A study published in the peer reviewed Creativity Research Journal in 2005 by J. Meneely and M. Portillo agreed that creativity is not localized into a particular thinking style, such as a right-brain dominance resulting in more creativity. They did however find correlation between creativity in design students based on how flexible they were using all four thinking styles equally as measured by the HBDI. When students were less entrenched in a specific style of thinking they measured higher creativity using Domino's Creativity Scale (ACL-Cr). [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myers–Briggs Type Indicator</span> Model of personality types

In personality typology, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. It enjoys popularity despite being widely regarded as pseudoscience by the scientific community. The test attempts to assign a binary value to each of four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. One letter from each category is taken to produce a four-letter test result representing one of sixteen possible personalities, such as "INFP" or "ESTJ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creativity</span> Human capacity, ability or talent to create something that is both novel and useful.

Creativity is a characteristic of someone or some process that may form something new and valuable. The created item may be intangible or a physical object.

Visual thinking, also called visual or spatial learning or picture thinking, is the phenomenon of thinking through visual processing. Visual thinking has been described as seeing words as a series of pictures. It is common in approximately 60–65% of the general population. "Real picture thinkers", those who use visual thinking almost to the exclusion of other kinds of thinking, make up a smaller percentage of the population. Research by child development theorist Linda Kreger Silverman suggests that less than 30% of the population strongly uses visual/spatial thinking, another 45% uses both visual/spatial thinking and thinking in the form of words, and 25% thinks exclusively in words. According to Kreger Silverman, of the 30% of the general population who use visual/spatial thinking, only a small percentage would use this style over and above all other forms of thinking, and can be said to be true "picture thinkers".

The term laterality refers to the preference most humans show for one side of their body over the other. Examples include left-handedness/right-handedness and left/right-footedness; it may also refer to the primary use of the left or right hemisphere in the brain. It may also apply to animals or plants. The majority of tests have been conducted on humans, specifically to determine the effects on language.

Betty Edwards is an American art teacher and author best known for her 1979 book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. She taught and did research at the California State University, Long Beach, until she retired in the late 1990s. While there, she founded the Center for the Educational Applications of Brain Hemisphere Research.

Creativity techniques are methods that encourage creative actions, whether in the arts or sciences. They focus on a variety of aspects of creativity, including techniques for idea generation and divergent thinking, methods of re-framing problems, changes in the affective environment and so on. They can be used as part of problem solving, artistic expression, or therapy.

Learning styles refer to a range of theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning. Although there is ample evidence that individuals express personal preferences on how they prefer to receive information, few studies have not found any validity in using learning styles in education. Many theories share the proposition that humans can be classified according to their "style" of learning, but differ on how the proposed styles should be defined, categorized and assessed. A common concept is that individuals differ in how they learn.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) is a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves and others. It was first introduced in the book Please Understand Me. It is one of the most widely used personality assessments in the world. The KTS is closely associated with the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); however, there are significant practical and theoretical differences between the two personality questionnaires and their associated different descriptions. It has been criticized as pseudoscience.

Visual learning is a learning style among the learning styles of Neil Fleming's VARK model in which information is presented to a learner in a visual format. Visual learners can utilize graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, and other forms of visual stimulation to effectively interpret information. The Fleming VARK model also includes Kinesthetic Learning and Auditory learning. There is no evidence that providing visual materials to students identified as having a visual style improves learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lateralization of brain function</span> Specialization of some cognitive functions in one side of the brain

The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. Although the macrostructure of the two hemispheres appears to be almost identical, different composition of neuronal networks allows for specialized function that is different in each hemisphere.

Cognitive style or thinking style is a concept used in cognitive psychology to describe the way individuals think, perceive and remember information. Cognitive style differs from cognitive ability, the latter being measured by aptitude tests or so-called intelligence tests. There is controversy over the exact meaning of the term "cognitive style" and whether it is a single or multiple dimension of human personality. However it remains a key concept in the areas of education and management. If a pupil has a cognitive style that is similar to that of his/her teacher, the chances are improved that the pupil will have a more positive learning experience. Likewise, team members with similar cognitive styles likely feel more positive about their participation with the team. While matching cognitive styles may make participants feel more comfortable when working with one another, this alone cannot guarantee the success of the outcome.

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) is a clinical instrument for assessing cognitive development. Its construction incorporates several recent developments in both psychological theory and statistical methodology. The test was developed by Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman in 1983 and revised in 2004. The test has been translated and adopted for many countries, such as the Japanese version of the K-ABC by the Japanese psychologists Tatsuya Matsubara, Kazuhiro Fujita, Hisao Maekawa, and Toshinori Ishikuma.

William Edward Herrmann was an American creativity researcher and author, known for his research in creative thinking and whole-brain methods. He is considered the "father of brain dominance technology".

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Dichotic listening is a psychological test commonly used to investigate selective attention and the lateralization of brain function within the auditory system. It is used within the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Left-brain interpreter</span>

The left-brain interpreter is a neuropsychological concept developed by the psychologist Michael S. Gazzaniga and the neuroscientist Joseph E. LeDoux. It refers to the construction of explanations by the left brain hemisphere in order to make sense of the world by reconciling new information with what was known before. The left-brain interpreter attempts to rationalize, reason and generalize new information it receives in order to relate the past to the present.

James Olson is an American philosopher and author. A generalist focused on psychological aspects of the brain, neuropsychology, Olson explores the brain's role in influencing the nature of human consciousness, thought, and behavior. In particular, he seeks to understand how genetic dominance and functional lateralization combine to create a series of inheritable default brain-operating systems to help guide perception and response. Olson is the author of How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future, a book that seeks to explain human behavior by focusing on functional differences in the brain's hemispheres in terms of how they view and manage the information that generates our thoughts, feelings, and actions; and The Whole-Brain Path to Peace, which promotes peace though whole-brain thinking. To explore the brain's role in our decision-making and behavior, Olson studies the character of the macro management systems that oversee the brain's operation, explaining how the various systems help shape our viewpoint, bias our perception, and divide us.

Hermann or Herrmann may refer to:

Marino (Min) Sidney Basadur is a teacher, consultant and researcher best known for his work in applied creativity and as the developer Simplexity Thinking System for improving workplace innovation & creativity. He is president of Basadur Applied Creativity and professor emeritus of organizational behavior and innovation at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Business.

References

  1. ↑ DeWald, R. E. (1989) abstract
  2. ↑ Krause, M. G. (1987, June) abstract
  3. ↑ Bentley and Hall (2001) p.3961
  4. ↑ Wilson (2007) pp. 1079
  5. ↑ Deardorff, Dale S. (2005) p.1
  6. ↑ "European Herrmann Institute FAQ". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  7. 1 2 Herrmann, Ned (1999) pp.1-3
  8. ↑ Lees (2007) pp.11-15
  9. 1 2 Terence (1987) p.604
  10. ↑ Lees (2007) p.32
  11. ↑ C. Victor Bunderson, 'Dissertation: The Validity of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument' Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine , published by Herrmann International, 1985
  12. ↑ Herrmann International web site
  13. 1 2 3 Hodgkinson and Sadler-Smith (2003) pp.1-2
  14. ↑ Allinson & Hayes (1996) pp. 119–135.
  15. ↑ Lees (2007) pp.20,32
  16. ↑ Herrmann-Nehdi, Ann (2003) Coaching With Style
  17. 1 2 Hines (1985) p.1
  18. ↑ Terence Hines (1987) p.600
  19. ↑ Hines (1991) pp. 223–227
  20. ↑ Hines (1987) p.603
  21. ↑ McKean (1985) Discover pp.30-41.
  22. ↑ Meneely and Portillo (2005) p.1

Further reading

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