Now that you know about your own cognitive tendencies, let's take some time to focus on the test you took. By going through and explaining the different answer options, we can help you understand more fully how you think using examples from the test. You can also see common ways other people think about the same problem that differ from your own thought processes.

Your final score is generated using a set of algorithms that take all of the test questions into account, assigning appropriate values to your responses depending on their relevance to a given scale.

= your answer

1. To you, which of the following is most like: 4+6
a.	2+3 This response is visually extremely similar to the original equation of "4+6." In fact, the only transformation is mathematical, as this equation is half of the example equation, and thus one would expect someone with a visual as opposed to an auditory bias to choose this option.
b.	4 - 6 This response is also visually similar to the example equation, with the exception of switching the "plus" sign to a "minus." The fact that this is a visual transformation implies that it should be most appealing to someone with a visual learning style.
c.	9 + 1 This response is visually similar to the example in that it is in a numerical format and the order of elements is identical - that is, it conforms to the "one number plus another" format. Furthermore, what these two numbers sum to is identical to that in the example equation. "4+6=10" can be seen to have many visual similarities to "9+1=10," even if some of the details are different. Thus, one would expect someone with a visual learning style to choose this option.
d.	Four plus Six This equation can be considered the spoken equivalent of the original equation, and thus one who prefers it would most likely demonstrate an auditory learning style

2. Which of the following is most like: PAG
a.	FLAG "FLAG" sounds like "PAG" if read aloud. This is the option an auditory thinker would choose.
b.	PAZ "PAZ" is visually very similar to "PAG" and is thus a visual choice.

3. The figure below is most similar to:
a.	In this option, the focus of the image is the contents of the square, two white and two black squares as opposed to how they are arranged in space. This reductionistic approach, breaking an object down into its constituent parts, is characteristic of the left hemisphere of the brain.
b.	Here, the focus is upon the whole structure — that is, the box itself, instead of what kinds of patterns appear inside the box as a whole. This holistic characteristic is an indication of right brain thinking.

4. Which of the following images do you find most appealing:
a.
b.
c.
d.	Research has found that the different treatments of the letter A interfere with processing in the two hemispheres in different ways. Specifically, option A does not interfere with the left hemisphere whatsoever, whereas something more like option D has been found to significantly interfere with left hemisphere processing. Thus, A is strongly a left hemisphere choice; B is a somewhat left hemisphere choice; C is a somewhat right hemisphere option; and D is strongly right hemisphere.

5. DOG and CAT are related to each other in the same way as:
a.	WOOF and MEOW Choosing the sounds made by the animals uses auditory cues to make decisions over and above visual cues.
b.	CAT and MOUSE This option involves seeing that Dog is to Cat as Cat is to Mouse, and involves visually laying out the system of relationships in one's head. This, its visual transitivity, and the fact that one of the words from the original relationship is maintained in this option, makes it a visual response.

6.	is to as:
a.	One is to three This option requires that one boil down the figure into its theoretical elements, and then turn them into a verbal statement. Furthermore, getting to this option requires you to take the visual example of the original statement, and turn it into a verbal statement.
b.	is to       Choosing this option involves seeing the example figures as shapes that go together, and fit into one greater whole. Thus, it is focusing upon the visual cues of the question.

7. The figure I find most appealing is:
a.
b.
c.	Research has demonstrated that gradients such as these activate your brain hemispheres differently. Simpler gradients, such as the one in option A, offer a singular set of sequential details to attend to. That is, one would follow the simple train of events as going from black, to white, and then back to black. This sort of gradient is much easier to see as a single series or train of events, which implies left hemispheric preference. More complex gradients, such as that found in option C, however, are easier to process as a whole. That is, one may simply see it as a series of 4 gradients, instead of following the train of events from black, to white, and then to black repetitively four times over. This greater tendency to be taken as one simultaneous whole implies greater right hemispheric preference. Logically, then, one who chooses gradient B is deciding to use both hemispheres equally.

8. Which of the choices is most similar to the following image:
a.	In order to choose this option, one must decide that the important detail of the example was the fact that it is a specific color word. Thus, the fundamental cue guiding someone's decision would be the meaning of the words, which is a left hemisphere function. Furthermore, the individual who chooses this option is focused upon visual stimuli in that both "Green" and "Blue" are names of colors, and are thus visual objects in and of themselves.
b.	This option is also left brain because of the fact that it focuses upon the meaning of "Blue" — namely, that it is specifically a color word. Furthermore, this option takes "Blue" back to its conceptual and verbal category of "Color," and does not focus upon the visual fact of colors themselves. This focus upon the non-visual elements indicates that it is an auditory option.
c.	This option sounds like the example, but has no actual semantic similarity — blew has nothing to do with blue. This focus upon sound and association, without paying attention to meaning, is characteristic of an auditory and right brain individual.
d.	In order to pick this option, one must be focusing upon the visual cue offered in the original example — that is, that the text was written in green. Furthermore, this choice ignores the verbal element in the original example, that the word literally says "blue." That implies that it is a right brained choice.

9. AIR and PLANE are related in the same way as:
a.	WATER and BOAT This choice focuses upon the relationships between the distinct words — that is, planes move through air just as boats move through water. This is a left brain way of approaching the problem. Furthermore, in order to see the relationships, a certain degree of visual orientation is required so as to see the words transformed into their respective objects — that is, to see a plane in the air, or a boat in water.
b.	HEIR and PLAIN This option simply associates over AIR and PLANE, coming up with words that are semantically unrelated, but which sound similar. Ignoring the meanings of the words is a typically right brained approach, and focusing on how the words sound is obviously an auditory approach.
c.	FINGER and NAIL In order to choose this option, one must decide that AIR and PLANE primarily function together, as AIRPLANE. Thus, FINGER can combine with NAIL to make FINGERNAIL. This process is a left brain one in that one must logically decide that the primary relationship between the example words is that they form a compound word. Similarly, it is auditory in that such a discovery involves sounding out the words next to one another, as opposed to visualizing anything relating to the words.
d.	CLOUD and SKY This option is a right brained one because it involves simply associating over the words AIR and PLANE and deriving other things relating to the same content family. Such a focus upon the holistic field in which the example objects exist is characteristic of the right hemisphere. Furthermore, this option involves things that one must see as being all together, and thus it involves visual thinking.

10. The relationship between 3 and 9 is the same as that between:
a.	1 and 7 In order to choose this option one must see that the similarity between this choice and the example above is that the amount of space between both number pairs is identical. Thus, it requires spatial thinking, on the one hand, which is characteristic of the right hemisphere, and a visual orientation, on the other, since one must see the amount of space between the number pairs in order to view this similarity.
b.	2 and 10 This option involves a left brained process in that one must use linear logic to see that 3 and 9 equal 12, as do 2 and 10. Furthermore, in order to see this one must simply say to oneself that "3 plus 9 equals 12, and 2 plus 10 equals 12;" thus, it is an auditory option.
c.	2 and 4 In order to choose this option, one must see that 22 equals 4, just as 32 equals 9. The linear logic required to make this connection is a left hemispheric process. Furthermore, the easiest way to view that math is by literally seeing the superscripted 2 (the "squared" sign) above the 2 and the 3; thus, it is an option that should attract visual learners.
d.	Thirty and ninety The similarity between this option and the original pair of numbers is based on both the fact that the words sound similar to the numbers. However, there is no mathematical similarity, especially considering the fact that the numbers in this choice are written as words and not as their numerical equivalents. Choosing not based on any mathematical rule, in conjunction with how the words themselves sound, is characteristic of a right brained, auditory individual.

11.	The drawing below can also be represented as:
a.	This choice focuses upon the content of the example figure, as opposed to its outer structure. As the left hemisphere is more heavily involved in such reductionistic processes, those that break down a whole into its constituent parts make this a left brained choice.
b.	This option focuses upon the square structure of the example figure and allows the content to be more fluid. Its focus upon the entire field as a whole makes it a right brained choice.

12. Which of the following best describes your personality?
a.	A, B, C, D, E... This is a very linear and verbally-oriented sequence, and thus would be preferentially chosen by your left brain.
b.	This option implies more of a "big picture" mentality on the part of the person taking the test and even implies a certain attention to spatial relationships. Such a focus upon entire holistic fields is characteristic of someone's right brain

13.	What is this a picture of:
a.	Flying "Flying" is what is going on in the picture in a broad sense, independent of any of the details of the image. This holistic and pattern-based approach is typically a right brain one.
b.	A bird Deciding that the picture is one of a bird involves reducing the image down to its constituent elements, and then choosing which element is the main focus. This reductionistic approach is typically a left brain one.

14. Which word pair is most like CONTROLLED-UNCONTROLLED:
a.	RESTRICTED-UNRESTRICTED The words in this choice mean something similar to what the example words mean, and are varied, relative to one another, in a way that is identical to the example word pair, as well. Logical, meaning-based selections indicate your left brain.
b.	UNCONTROLLED-CONTROLLED This option has the same words as in the example pair, but rearranged. Thus, the focus is on the arrangement of the words in space, relative to one another, and not on the meaning of the words. Taking a pattern-based approach and focusing upon spatial cues indicates a decision based on your right brain.

15. The figure I like the most is:
a.	The boundary in this image implies that one is seeing the whole picture. This kind of focus is characteristic of the right hemisphere.
b.	The unboundedness of this image makes it a jumble of individual details with no thread linking them together into a greater whole. A preference for processing elements as parts, rather than as a whole, is characteristic of the left hemisphere.

16. Seeing the letters I and M together makes me most think of:
a.	U and R If one sounds out the letters "I" and "M," one ends up with the sentence, "I am." Similarly, one can sound out "U" and "R" to achieve "You are." Hence, this choice has an auditory focus.
b.	O and M The difference between this option and the example letters is the letter "O," as opposed to "I." The vowel replacement makes this option still visually resemble the example letters — and so this choice has a visual focus.

17.	The relationship between    and    is similar to the relationship between:
a.	and The relationship between the elements in this option and the example words is a direct and logical one. The colors of the elements are identical. These colors are kept distinct in both cases, as well. This focus on distinct elements, as well as the linearity of the relationships, gives it a left hemispheric focus. Furthermore, the focus upon a visual element — namely, the color of the words, as opposed to the meaning or sound of the words — makes it a clear option for a visual thinker.
b.	and This choice takes a left hemispheric focus upon the meaning of all of the involved words. Furthermore, the transitivity of this pair and the example pair (i.e., LIKE is to LOVE as LOVE is to ADORE), combined with the fact that this pair ignores the color cues in the original example, makes it an auditory option.
c.	This choice focuses upon the color cues, and so has a visual orientation. It also combines the yellow and red elements into a unified whole, which is a right hemispheric process.
d.	and This choice specifically does not use color cues, working instead off of possible associations one might have with the original example words. Hence, its focus is a right hemispheric and auditory one.

18.	relates to      the same way as:
a.	This simple visual transformation involves adding another half-circle within a half-square to the bottoms of both of the two original figures. Hence, it should logically be most appealing to someone with a predominantly visual learning style.
b.	This option involves doubling the first image and halving the second. This somewhat complex rule is much more visually than linguistically straightforward. Hence, it should appeal more to someone with a more visual than auditory learning style.
c.	The transformation in this response involves a very simple rule - rotate the images 45 degrees. While this is visually fairly straightforward, it is linguistically even more straightforward. Thus, it appeals to people with auditory learning styles.
d.	This transformation also involves a simple linguistic rule - namely, that of multiplying each image by four. Although it is visually straightforward in its own right, comparing the visual similarities between this response and the example images is not as immediate as is this simple verbal rule. Hence, it, too, appeals to people with predominantly auditory learning styles.

19. The sequence    is the same as:
a.	This variation is heavily rule-based — the pattern has been doubled in a rigid, almost automatic fashion. This rigidness and linearity is a left hemispheric characteristic.
b.	This variation has the same number of elements as the original, but they have all been rearranged in space into a different pattern. Pattern-orientation and spatial rotation are right brain elements.

20.	Which figure is most similar to:
a.	This response suggests that the fundamental element in the above example is the more image-oriented, and less verbal, element - namely, that of the rectangular boundary. Hence, choosing this option involves focusing upon more purely visual elements.
b.	Choosing the contents of the rectangular boundary in the example above involves seeing the letter "O" as the primary element. This focus upon a verbal element implies a more auditory than visual learning style.

21. Which of the following is more clear:
a.	No smiling This choice is the linguistic way of getting a message across, and involves a preference for both verbal and sequential thinking - both characteristics of the left hemisphere.
b.	This choice, on the other hand, is the more purely visual and immediate method of getting that same message across. This image transmits the entirety of the message in one fell swoop. This immediacy, combined with the fact that it is non-linguistic, implies that one who chooses it is significantly engaging their right hemisphere.

22. The connection between the words EVIL and DEVIL is the same as the connection between which of the following word pairs:
a.	SCARY and MONSTER "SCARY" and "MONSTER" have similar relationships as "EVIL" and "DEVIL" — that is, "DEVILS" are "EVIL" just as "MONSTERS" are "SCARY" In addition, monsters are scary, devils are scary and both can be evil. That approach further makes this a left brain selection.
b.	EEL and FEEL "EEL" and "FEEL" are similar to "EVIL" and "DEVIL" in that they involve simply adding one letter to the first word to achieve the second, thereby suggesting an approach to words as primarily patterns of letters. This pattern-based, meaning-irrelevant similarity is very characteristic of the right brain.

23. Which of the following is the closest equivalent of the word BLUE?
a.	In order to choose option A, one must view the word "BLUE" as an emotional word more than a color word. Such a decision demonstrates a clear auditory bias, focusing upon specifically non-visual elements.
b.	Choosing option B indicates that one sees "BLUE" primarily as a color word. In fact, not only is this choice another color word itself, but it is printed in blue text, thereby making it doubly visually oriented.

24. Presented with BLUE-GRAY, your first reaction is to think of:
a.	LIGHT BLUE Blue-Gray could be construed as a single compound color, just like the single color Light Blue. However, this option presents the color in words, just as it was presented in the original example. This focus upon the visual similarities between the example option and the response implies a visual learning style.
b.	GRAY-WHITE Blue-Gray could be seen as two different colors stuck together by a hyphen, just like Gray-White. Furthermore, this option, just like the previous response, involves leaving the color words as words, as opposed to resolving the words to images, and thus requires that one see the visual similarities between the example option and this response as of fundamental importance. This requirement implies a visual learning style.
c.	This response involves resolving the color words in the original example to their visual equivalents. Hence, one would have to hear Blue-Gray, process the words, and then transform them into a color-based and non-linguistic form. This willingness to ignore the visual format of the example implies an auditory learning style.
d.	This response also involves resolving the color words in the original example, although in this case it sees the original not as two distinct colors but as one compound color. Furthermore, it requires that one hear the example and then transform it into another form - in this case, a color-based and non-linguistic form. Once again, this willingness to ignore the visual format of the example implies an auditory learning style.

25.	Which is the opposite of the following figure?
a.	This image has simply taken the original image and put black where there was white, and white where there was black. Its fundamental cue was the entire, unified image — that is, it simply inverted the color scheme without any regard for the actual structure of the objects in the image. This preference for approaching things as a whole, as opposed to breaking them down into their constituent elements, is characteristic of the right hemisphere.
b.	This image reverses the original one based on the geometric shapes that compose the image. That is, it specifically does break the original image down into its constituent elements and then rearranges them. This focus upon the details that comprise an ostensibly greater whole is characteristic of the left hemisphere.

History behind the test

This test was created using a variety of brain lateralization research, relying especially upon Dr. Roger Sperry's pioneering work in establishing the hemispheric distinctions in the brain, for which he won a Nobel Prize in 1981. Dr. Sperry discovered that the right and left hemispheres actually do have specialized functions, and that both hemispheres can even operate somewhat independently.

In the early 1960s, Sperry and colleagues conducted many experiments on an epileptic patient who had had his corpus collosum, the "bridge" between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, split so that the connection between the hemispheres was severed. Eventually, his research team discovered that this patient could only perform certain activities, such as naming objects or putting blocks together in a prescribed way, when using one side of his brain or another. This research began our understanding of the hemispheric lateralization of brain function.

Our test was also designed using the work of Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University and his theory of Multiple Intelligences, as well as the Learning Style Inventory of Jeffrey Barsch, Ed.D. Dr. Gardner's theory basically argues that there is no one basic type of intelligence, as most IQ tests would have us believe, but that, instead, there are seven intelligences, each of which is important in its own way and each of which we all have to varying degrees. The Barsch Learning Style Inventory, on the other hand, agrees that there are multiple types of intelligence, but narrows its focus to end up with the visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities of learning as its fundamental types of intelligence.

References

Ausubel, D., (1968), Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View, Holt, Reinhart and Winston, New York.

Barsch, J., (1991), Barsch Learning Style Inventory, Academic Therapy Publications.

Gardner, H., (1993), Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Basic Books.

Gawain, S., Creative Visualization, (1982), Bantam Books, New York.

Hellige, J., (1993), Hemispheric Assymetry: What's Right and What's Left, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

O'Connor, J., and Seymour, J., (1995), Introducing NLP: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People, Thorsons, Hammersmith, London.

Ornstein, R., (1997), The Right Mind: Making Sense of the hemispheres, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, California.

Springer, S.P., and Deutsch, G., (1998), Left brain, Right brain: Perspective from Cognitive Neuroscience, W.H. Freeman and Company, NewYork.

Sperry, R.W., (1982), Science and Moral Priority: Merging Mind, brain and Human Values, Vol. 4 of Convergence, (Series editor Ruth Anshen), Columbia University Press, New York.

Sperry, R.W., Gazzaniga, M.S., and Bogen, J.E., (1969), Interhemispheric Relationships: The Neocortical Commissures; Syndromes of Hmisphere Disconnection, In Handbook of Clinical Neurology, P.J. Vinken and G.W. Bruyn (Eds.), North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, Vol. 4, pp. 273-290.