Busting Brain Mythsfor Better Design

Chelsea Maxwell !@chelsea_lace

quick quiz

are you a left brain or a right brain thinker?

quick quiz

hemispherectomy?

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

user interaction designer Active Network

m.s. applied cognition and neuroscienceThe University of Texas at Dallas

I like brains

who else likes brains?

I like brains

Roger Sperry

One must caution in this connection that the experimentally observed polarity in right-‐left cognitive style is an idea in general with which it is very easy to run wild.

what do we know about brain hemispheres?

Broca’s area Wernicke’s

area

So do 1 in 10 right-‐handed people

1 in 3 left-‐handed people have language areas on their right hemisphere

creativity logic

creativity logic

memory

intelligence

understanding

motivationtalent

awareness

emotional intelligence

problem solving

divergent thinking

aesthetics

skill

reasoning

creativity logic

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

? ? ?

65% of people surveyed believe we only use 10% of our brains

We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.

— William James

Professor William James of Harvard used to say that the average man develops only ten percent of his latent mental ability.

— Lowell Thomas

10% of what?

20% body’s energy3% weight

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Meyers

Introversion Extroversion

Intuitive Sensing

FeelingThinking

Perceiving Judging

Introversion Extroversion

Intuitive Sensing

FeelingThinking

Perceiving Judging

Introversion Extroversion

Intuitive Sensing

FeelingThinking

Perceiving Judging

Introversion E

I Sensing

FeelingT

Perceiving J

INTP

ENTP ENTJ

INTJ

ISTP

ESTP

ESTJ

ISTJ

ISFP

ISFJ

ESFP

ESFJ

INFP INFJ

ENFP ENFJ

INTP

ENTP ENTJ

INTJ

ISTP

ESTP

ESTJ

ISTJ

ISFP

ISFJ

ESFP

ESFJ

INFP INFJ

ENFP ENFJ

INTP

ENTP ENTJ

INTJ

ISTP

ESTP

ESTJ

ISTJ

ISFP

ISFJ

ESFP

ESFJ

INFP INFJ

ENFP ENFJ

forer effector

barnum effect

Disciplined and self-‐controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside.

“

”

You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof.

“

”

At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved.

“

”

subjects rated accuracy as 4.26 on a scale of 0 (﴾very poor)﴿ to 5 (﴾excellent)﴿

even after just 5 weeks as many as 50% of people are classified as a different type

people are complicated

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

Goethe’s Theory of Colors

Alexander Schauss

(﴾Baker-‐Miller Pink)﴿

Alexander Schauss

(﴾Baker-‐Miller Pink)﴿

http://bit.ly/1jPAjh4

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

Marc Prensky

1/3 can't identify description of “bcc” email function

1/4 didn’t know how to adjust privacy settings on social media sites

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

1. Left brain vs. right brain

2. 10% of your brain

3. Personality types

4. Color and emotions

5. Digital natives

Design better

1. don’t generalize. research.

Age Extroversion

Technology experience

Emotions

Creativity

Occupation

Personas

Tasks

Decision making

2. your users aren’t stupid

3. designers aren’t special

I’m not like other brains

4. Design with mental model in mind

Can you find the original source?

Is the study valid?Can you find the original source?

Too good to be true?Is the study valid?Can you find the original source?

Is someone trying to make money from this?Too good to be true?Is the study valid?Can you find the original source?

resources

@neuro_skeptic

@neurobullocks

@brain_facts_org

@neuroscience

@chelsea_lace

chelseamaxwell.com/brainmyths.html