Neuromyth: Right Brain vs. Left Brain Myth

Task description
Individuals are either 'left brain' thinkers or 'right brain' thinkers: Using Neuroscience to Dispel this Popular Myth
In this essay you will outline and critically review neuropsychological literature that dispels the ‘neuromyth’ that certain ways of thinking (e.g. logic, creativity) demonstrate individual left/right brain dominance.
What you need to do
You are tasked to write a critically considered essay dispelling the popular neuromyth that creative, emotional individuals are right brain dominant and that logical, analytical thinkers are left brain dominant. No doubt you have heard many people across multiple settings express this idea, and perhaps you’ve also noticed that certain products have been developed that purport to help individuals determine their hemispheric dominance and also provide ways for them to “strengthen their weak side”. This myth, while having been refuted by countless studies, continues to be perpetuated and is even incorporated into the development of workplace and educational resources.
In this essay, we want you to concentrate on providing an objective, critical, and scientific explanation for why this idea is inaccurate. While it is important to discuss the neuropsychological research and evidence for hemispheric dominance of certain mental functions (i.e., the origins of the myth), the major emphasis of your essay should be on the neuropsychological evidence that refutes the notion that certain individual characteristics imply that an individual is ‘left brained’ or ‘right brained’. In this regard, please aim to incorporate recent articles to substantiate your conclusions because there is always more research being done that provides an ongoing appreciation of the nuances of brain function, across a range of different cognitive abilities. Please note that it is critical that the literature you provide discusses biological/structural mechanisms. In your essay you will also need to make sure that you are evaluating the research, i.e., including details related to methodology, sample sizes (and characteristics), and the researchers’ conclusions. Take your time to understand the research articles thoroughly before you evaluate them and include them in your essay. Review articles are helpful, and excellent starting sources, but they should not provide the bulk of your support. Please do not discuss review articles or meta-analyses as if they are single studies.
We expect a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed relevant references, but you will likely need more to make sure you are synthesising ideas properly from different research contributions. It is important that the essay reflects your understanding of brain anatomy and function and neuropsychological research methods, and that you present this understanding in a logical and coherent fashion. Over-reliance on undergraduate textbooks, the popular press and unrefereed Web sites will result in a reduced grade.
Note: You are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (AI; e.g., ChatGPT) tools in this essay. Use of AI in this essay constitutes student misconduct and is considered a breach of academic integrity. The reasons for this are that the essay requires you to demonstrate your own skills and competencies, and is designed to challenge you and help you to develop essential skills for your future career.
The assignment should be in APA style (7th ed) and contain a title page, abstract, introduction, body, conclusion, and reference list. The 2,000-word limit includes all sections except the title page and references section. In-text citations within the main text count toward the word limit. Please include your word count on the title page.
Please note that in your assignment, everything needs to be described in your own words. Do not copy anything word-for-word from this document or any other sources (e.g., articles or tutorial slides). You need to demonstrate your own understanding and effective communication skills. This means communicating your own insights and paraphrasing relevant details about the study rather than copying from the provided resources. When describing the literature, aim to summarise and synthesise (in your own words), and cite the relevant sources.
Make sure you have covered all relevant components of an essay in psychology. Use the marking criteria to help you with this.
General
· Please ensure that you follow APA style, 7th edition.
· The following resources can be used as a guide:
o Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2020). A Guide to Formatting in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
o American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
· You can find some online resources here: https://apastyle(dot)apa(dot)org/Links to an external site., including sample papers: https://apastyle(dot)apa(dot)org/style-grammarguidelines/paper-format/sample- papers.
· Use double spacing throughout the paper with no extra spaces between paragraphs, sections, or references. Everything should be written out in full sentences, no bullet points.
Structure
Title Page
· Create a title that summarises the main idea of the paper, including the topic and thesis statement. Follow the APA student title page guidelines (https://apastyle(dot)apa(dot)org/style-grammar- guidelines/paper-format/samplepapers).
· Please do not use a cover page template that includes colour, large font, or other design elements that are not part of APA style.
· Include the word count.
Abstract
· This is a short summary of the essay topic, main overall points of the literature included, limitations of literature, and future directions/conclusions. It should include information about your paper such that a reader can identify if they want to read the rest of your paper by reading the abstract. This is usually written last.
Introduction
· Repeat the title of the paper for the heading in this section rather than using “Introduction”.
· Frame the key topic and why it is important to understand both the origins of and the evidence against this claim.
· Introduce important key words and define them
· Provide a statement at the end of the introduction that highlights the focus/scope of the essay. This should be quite directive and definitive, e.g. “The literature reviewed in this essay demonstrates that…..”
Body
· Each section of the body should address something new and interesting. For instance, you might like to have each section addressing a different cognitive ability. Alternatively, you could focus your entire essay on the literature related to one cognitive ability, and each paragraph could address different aspects of this ability, or different research methods. There’s no right or wrong way to do this; it’s all about the relevance of the literature you’ve chosen and your ability to communicate it effectively.
· You might like to use subheadings to make the flow of your ideas clearer – just keep in mind that they will be included the word count.
· Each paragraph should include:
o A topic sentence– what is the focus of this paragraph?
o Support for the topic of the paragraph, i.e. review the available literature
o A concluding sentence: Drawing the conclusions from the literature reviewed together, what does this tell us about lateralisation/dominance/cognitive abilities – i.e. link the specific topic of this paragraph back to the overall topic of the essay
· Also include a discussion of what did the studies do well/not so well (limitations) linking to what is yet to be investigated. This may be woven throughout, or may be its own section towards the end.
Conclusion
· Summarise what you have discussed.
· Concluding statement – should be related to your thesis statement. i.e. restate the thesis statement and discuss why the literature supports it.
· Finish on unanswered questions and future directions of the research.
References
· Aim to include peer-reviewed meta-analyses 13 articles