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EFFECTS OF BRAIN DOMINANCE AND HANDEDNESS IN MEMORY
RETENTION OF SELECTED FOURTH YEAR HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IN TRECE MARTIRES CITY, CAVITE
Shalom G. Ersando and Mariel DanicaMitu
A thesis proposal submitted to the faculty of the Department of Social Sciences and
Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State University, Indang Cavite, in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for graduation with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology with contribution no. ______________. Prepared under the
supervision of Mrs.Armi Grace B. Desingaño.
INTRODUCTION
Education is one of the common factors that are needed in our country for further
progress. Education is life (Inductivo et. al, 2011). Everyone must be educated to learn
new things to be more productive in our own ways.
The school is the most common place where students can enhance their learning.
Studying is a way of improving intelligence which can also enhance one‟s memory.
Memory is the process that is used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information
(Cherry, 2013). It is the ability to draw on our past experiences in order to use it in the
present. Having the ability to retain many memories gives an individual the advantage to
remember many learned things contained in its past experiences. This also means that a
student who can retain many lessons can excel on most subjects in his/her studies.
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Memory retention plays a big role for students because the larger the capacity of
information that they can store in their memory, the higher chance for them to get a high
grade. Many ways have been conducted to help a person improve memory retention.
Reading is one of the examples to improve one's memory. A person who is fond of
reading has higher capacity to retain information in their memory.
Department of Education plays a big role in enhancing a student‟s educational
needs so they set programs to evaluate students‟ intelligence and memory retention. The
National Achievement Test is one of the programs that Department of Education
administers for them to know how high the students‟ intelligence increases or how low it
decreases every year. Based on the statistics the trend of National Achievement Test
(NAT) results in Mean Percentage Score (MPS) of secondary levels from 49.3% in 2008
dropped to 46.7% in 2009 and 45.6% in 2010. There are several factors affecting the
decrease of National Achievement Test Results. Study habits of students, class room
facilities, teaching strategies and environmental factors such as noise are some of the
factors that affect the decrease of NAT results.
The above statement indicates the conditions that cannot be controlled by the
students in terms of their academic performance. But what can be controlled by the
students is the ability of their brain. Particularly, their brain is divided into two parts: the
left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere produces our intellectual,
analytical and critical behaviour (Shannon, 1980). Therefore, a person who is left brain
dominant is good in logic, critical thinking, numbers, language, and reasoning. On the
other hand, right hemisphere is responsible for making us more spatially aware, intuitive
and artistic (Shannon, 1980). A person who is right brain dominant processes information
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non-verbally, such as visual recognition, solving a jigsaw puzzle and the like and they
tend to recognize pattern, faces and music. But there are people who are bilateral, or uses
there left and right brain equally.
These characteristics, at the same time, show relevance on handedness. According
to Trampe (2001), brain dominance can be easily determined by knowing the handedness
of an individual. It proved that a right-handed person is left brain dominant but they had
problems when it comes to a left- handed person. Only 2 out of 10 of every left-handed
individuals are right-brain dominant. Almost all of the students are right handed and,
according to Broca's theory, are left brained dominant which can be a factor why there is
a decrease or increase in the students NAT results.
This study perfectly fits the 4th
year high school students because they are taking
the National Achievement Test and there can be a conflict in their brain dominance based
on their handedness that affects their intelligence. And the results of the NAT can help
them adjust to the college environment.
The researchers intend to conduct this study for everyone to be aware, especially
the students to know their brain dominance and change their learning style according to
it. These will also benefit the teachers in using a proper learning device for their students
according on their dominant brain. School administrators can also benefit in this study
because they can able to help the teachers in giving them new ideas about what possible
strategies can they use for their students to improve their memory retention and academic
performance by administering seminars and workshops and they can also help their
students to be attentive in class by improving their facilities. Lastly, it can also be a basis
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for an intervention program on how brain dominance and handedness can affect one's
intelligence and memory retention.
Statement of the Problem
Generally, the study will be conducted to determine the effects of brain
dominance and handedness in memory retention of selected fourth year high school
students in public schools in TreceMartires City, Cavite.
Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What part of the brain is dominant among 4th
year high school students as
classified between:
a. left-brained;
b. right-brained; and
c. bilateral?
2. What is the handedness of the 4th
year high school students as classified into:
a. left-handedness; and
b. right-handedness?
3. What is the level of memory retention of the 4th
year high school students?
4. Does brain dominance has a significant effect on memory retention?
5. Does handedness has a significant effect on memory retention?
6. Is there a significant relationship between brain dominance and handedness?
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Theoretical Framework
Right Brain, Left Brain Theory
Roger W. Sperry (1994) concluded the right-brain, left brain theory when he
discovered that cutting the corpus collosum (the structure that connects the two
hemispheres of the brain) could reduce or eliminate seizures while studying the effects of
epilepsy.
Other symptoms were experienced by the patients who have epilepsy after the
communication pathway between the two sides of the brain was cut. Many split-brain
patients were able to name objects that were processed by their left brain, but were not
able to name objects that processed by their right brain.
According to right brain, left brain theory, each side of the brain controls different
types of thinking. A person who is "left-brained" is often said to be more logical,
analytical and objective, while a person who is "right-brained" is said to be more
intuitive, thoughtful and subjective. This means that left side of the brain is considered to
be skillful at tasks that involve logic, language, critical thinking, numbers, reasoning and
analytical thinking, while the right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative
tasks.
In relation to the study, a student who is left side of the brain is dominant is good
in calculating, thinking, word puzzles, language, speech, and is realistic, while a student
who is right side of the brain is more dominant is good in art, recognizing faces, music,
intuition, images, color, reading emotion and is imaginative. Knowing the brain
dominance of students‟plays a very important role in their study because, they can change
their learning style to help them to improve their academic performance.
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Levels of Processing Theory
It is an influential theory of memory proposed by Craig and Lockhart (1972)
which rejected the idea of the dual store model of memory. This popular model
postulated that characteristics of a memory are determined by its "location" (ie, fragile
memory trace in short term store [STS] and a more durable memory trace in the long
term store [LTS]. Instead, Craig and Lockhart proposed that information could be
processed in a number of different ways and the durability or strength of the memory
trace was a direct function of the depth of processing involved. Moreover, depth of
processing was postulated to fall on a shallow to deep range.
Shallow processing is the analysis of information based on physical and sensory
characteristics. It has two forms: the structural processing (appearance) where we only
encode the physical characteristics of a certain kind of information; and the other one is
the phonemic processing where we only encode its sound. Maintenance rehearsal
(repetition to help us hold something in the short term memory) is the only type of
rehearsal to take place within the multi-store model that leads to fairly short-term
retention of information.
Deep processing is the analysis of information based on meaning. It involves the
semantic processing. It happens when people used to encode the meaning of a word and
relate it to similar words with similar meanings. A more meaningful analysis and critical
thinking is involved in an elaboration rehearsal that is involved in a deep processing that
can lead to a better recall. Giving a self-definition for a word and setting an example that
would link them to a previous knowledge is an example of deep processing.
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This theory explains how a level of processing affects memory retention. Students
who use shallow processing have a hard time in retaining and recalling information. But
if a student uses deeper level of processing, he/she can easily retain and recall/ retrieve
information. It is the idea that the way information is encoded affects how well it is
remembered. The deeper the level of processing, the easier the information is to recall.
Conceptual Framework
The paradigm shows that the respondents will be the 4th
year high school students
in public schools in TreceMartires City, Cavite. Their brain dominance will be classified
between the left hemisphere, right hemisphere and bilateral or whole brain. Their
handedness will also be classified between right handed and left handed. The one arrow
from brain dominance to memory retention, and the arrow from handedness to memory
retention, shows that brain dominance and handedness are the independent variables and
memory retention is the dependent variable.
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Figure 1.The effects of brain dominance and handedness on memory retention of 4th
year high school students in public schools in TreceMartirez City, Cavite.
4th
Ye4th YearrHigh School
Students in Public Schools inTreceMartires City, Cavite
Brain Dominance
a. left brain
b. right brain
c. bilateral
Memory Retention
Handedness
a. left handed
b. right handed
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Hypotheses
Ho1:Brain dominancedoes not have a significant effect on memory retention of 4th
year high school students.
Ho2:Handedness does not have a significant effect on memory retention of 4th
year high school students.
Objectives
Generally, this study aims todetermine the effects of brain dominance and
handedness in memory retention of selected fourth year high school students in public
schools in TreceMartires City, Cavite.
Specifically, this study aims to:
1. determine what part of the brain is dominant among 4th
year high school
students as classified between:
a. left-brained;
b. right-brained; and
c. bilateral
2. determine what is the handedness of the 4th
year high school students as
classified into:
c. left-handedness; and
d. right-handedness
3. determine what is the level of memory retention of the 4 th year high school
students.
4. determine if brain dominance has a significant effect on memory retention.
5. determine if handedness has a significant effect on memory retention.
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6. determine if there is a significant relationship between brain dominance and
handedness.
Importance of the Study
The study will be beneficial to the following individuals or groups of people:
Respondents.By means of this study, the respondents can determine if
handedness and brain dominance affects their memory retention level. In a way, they can
change their learning style according to their brain dominance. If they are not fond of
reading, they can start reading some reading materials. It can help them to improve their
memory.
Teachers.This can help the teachers in knowing what teaching strategies and
techniques are most effective for their students, thus promoting higher learning.
Examples of the strategies that they can do are, if their students are left brained, they can
give them some logical questions pertaining to their lessons. And they should encourage
their students to find new ways in solving problems like mathematical equations. They
should always prepare graphs, charts and tables for their students to be more attentive and
to learn more. On the other hand, if their students are right brained, teachers can create
visual aids that are colourful and artistic. And they should be patient in guiding and
explaining them how to solve a problem especially a mathematical problem. They should
clearly state all the principles and concepts and give them many examples for them to
learn.
Counselors.This can help the counselors‟ in guiding the students on what
possible learning strategies they can do to improve their memory retention and their
academic performance based on their dominant side of the brain.
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School administrators.By means of this study, the school administrators will be
able to administer seminars and training workshops that can give teachers new ideas
about what possible strategies and techniques can they use for their students. They can
also improve the schools facilities especially the class rooms and the laboratory rooms to
be able the students become more attentive and cooperative in their class. They can also
change some chairs for the left handed students for them to become comfortable.
Parents.This study can help the parents to know what are the possible effects of
brain dominance and handedness in memory retention of their child and help their child
improve it. They can give their child some supplements that can help them improve their
memory and give them necessary learning materials like for the left brain students, they
can give them some reading materials, puzzle like sudoku, crosswords and others. If their
child is right brain, they can give them some art materials for them to enhance their
creativity.
Community.This will be a great help for the community to think of ways on how
to prepare for their future work, thus giving future graduates and employees a chance to
get into field they are more suitable in. It can also increase the productivity of the
employee on what position in the company they are suitable with.
Field of Psychology.(Educational Psychology).It can help psychology students
and teachers in knowing how handedness and brain dominance plays a big role in
person‟s memory retention and how handedness and brain dominance affects our way of
thinking. Students can tell others about this thesis to be able to be aware about their brain
dominance which can help them improve their learning style to be able to have a good
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and high grade and to be able to improve their memory. It can help the teachers to have
new strategies to help their student to have a good grade.
Future Researchers.This study can serve as a guide for the future researchers
who wish to dwell on similar variables and topic for further search for knowledge.
Scope and Limitations
This study will focus only on the possible effects of left brain dominant and right
brain dominant students and left handed and right handed student towards memory
retention. Its main focus is to comprehend the factors of being left brain and right brain
and left handed and right handed individual, and how it can affect their memory
retention.
The respondents of the study will be the selected fourth 4th
year students in public
schools in TreceMartires City, Cavite, including the TreceMartires National High School
(Main Campus) and its Annexes, TreceMartires National High School (Cabezas Annex)
and TreceMartires National High School (ConchuAnex). Luis Aguado National High
School and Francisco Osorio National High School will also be included as locale where
participants will be identified.
Definition of Terms
The following are conceptual and operational definitions that will guide the
readers for a common frame of understanding:
Memory.Memory is the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later
retrieve information (Cherry, 2013). In this study, it refers to the ability of the 4th
year
high school students to draw on past experiences in order to use it in the present.
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Memory retention.The mental capacity or faculty of retaining or recalling facts,
events, impressions, or previous experiences (http://www.thefreedictionary.com). It refers
to the capacity of the students‟ brain to store and retrieve information.
Brain dominance. It is one side of the brain that is dominant; meaning, one side
of the brain is responsible for performing some unique and independent functions
(Helliage, 1990). It refers to the students whether they left-brained dominant or right-
brained dominant.
Right-brain dominant.Right side of the brain that is considered to be creative
and athletic part. Art appreciation comes from this half and where the spatial imagery
comes from. The right is known as the visual side (Trampe, 2001). In this study, it is the
students who are good in recognizing faces, expressing emotions, music, reading
comprehension, intuition and creativity.
Left-brain dominant.Left-side of the brain that is considered to be adept at tasks
that involve logic, language and analytical thinking (Cherry, 2013). It refers to the
students who like to read and are good in numbers, reasoning, and critical thinking.
Bilateral brain dominant.This is a psychological term indicating that brain
function is pretty much equally shared between the left and right hemispheres of the brain
(Biology, 2007). It refers to the students who are equally uses their left and right
hemisphere of their brain.
Handedness.Handedness is the dominance of one hand over the other, or the
unequal distribution of fine motor skills between the left and right hands
(http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/what.html). This refers to the uses of the hand
whether it is left or right hand.
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Right-handedness (or dextrality) People who are more dexterous with their right
hand when performing manual tasks (http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/what.html). As
used in this study, they are the students who use their right hand in writing and
performing other activities.
Left-handedness (or sinistrality) People who are more dexterous with their left
hand when performing manual tasks (http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/what.html).
This refers to the students who use their left hand in performing activities and in writing.
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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of related literature that came from books, unpublished
thesis, and websites which supports the study of brain dominance, handedness and
memory retention.
Brain Dominance
Brain dominance is the term used to describe the preferred way of thinking of an
individual by his/her own interests. This affects how a person process information.
According to Madela (2006), how a person learns affects personality, behavior, and
whether they are left-brain or right-brain dominant, they possess characteristics of both
hemispheres in their behavior. Brain dominance is using a most preferred side of the
brain than the other hemisphere. Hemispheric specialization is the unique way that the
two sides of the brain use to solve problems (Hermann, 2001). These sides of the brain
are referred to as left-brain and right-brain dominance. The two sides of the brain
functions differently over the other, these functions have been studied and described as
the left brain being responsible for the rational, analytical, and verbal thinking of a
person, while the right brain is responsible for the creative, intuitive, and responsive
thinking of the person. It is determined that one side of the brain has a unique function in
processing information over the other. The two sides of the brain functions normally, it
receives equal information but processes it differently. It is also mentioned that both
hemispheres rely on one learning model than the other, especially when new informations
have been gathered to the brain.
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People don‟t have the same brain but its hemispheric sides can think differently
by its own way, thus making the other side dominant. This specialization is called
lateralization which is described as the unique function of each of the hemispheres of the
brain. There is always a specialization of the function in some areas of the brain of each
individual (Gazzaniga et. al, 2001).
As used in this study, it refers to the classification of the high school students
whether they are left brain dominant, right brain dominant or bilateral as the result on the
questionnaire for brain dominance by Mariani (1996).
Left-Brain.It is stated that the left side of the brain is the part which is
responsible for the rational, analytical, and verbal thinking of a person. This includes
numbers, reasoning, critical thinking, logic, and systematic way of a person‟s thinking
ability. It is specialized in the language skills, analytical time sequence processing, and
skilled movement of a person. It focuses on the activities that require reading, thinking,
comprehensive writing, and reasoning (Robertson &Ivry, 2000). According to Rosete
(2009), 95% of the people use their left brain for language and comprehension such as
reading, writing, and speaking. That is why people often thought that the left brain is the
side of the brain which is logical, practical, and rule abiding. The left side of the brain
excels in mathematical problems, categorizing things, sequencing orders, and thinking
analytically.
A left brain learner is often called linear or analytical (Madela, 2006). They are
more usually logical, organized, and disciplined. According to Madela (2006) a person
who is left brain dominant prefers to look at the details and makes decision by facts. The
thinking and problem solving attributes of left brain dominant person is characterized as
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being logical, analytical, rational, objective, and critical. These are persons talented in
technical and quantitative endeavors. They use practical judgment and have an empirical
and keen view of problems and situations. They are very good at dealing with concrete
situations and seek quantitative precision.
In general, this left side of the brain focuses mainly in our analytical activity. We
can say if the person is dominant by their left side of the brain if they are, according to
Ellen Gagne, commonly labeled “academic” in aspects of learning, such as language and
mathematics, logical, thoughts, sequences and analysis. A student who is left brain
dominant prefers to work alone or is independent, attentive during long verbal
explanations, likes to read, good at math, very logical and when he/she is studying, he
prefers a place that totally quiet.
Right-Brain.The right side of the brain is responsible for the creativeness and
imagination of a person. It has the capacity to process only the simplest letters, numbers,
and languages. It answers questions non-verbally by pointing at objects or giving
illustrations. Although it cannot process information logically, it can produce information
by its own ways; the right brain is specialized in perceptive thinking, recognizing
patterns, faces, and music, solving a puzzle, and making an art (Feldman, 2000). The
right brain is more dominant in non-verbal process of information, such as visual
recognition, spatial perception, and emotion (Floel& others, 2004). It also helps a person
express his/her own emotions and detect emotions that other people feel (Borod, 1998).
Therefore, recognizing and expressing emotions and much of humor involves the right
side of the brain (Gegeshidze&Tsaquareli, 2004).
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A right brain learner is called a global learner (Madela, 2006) because that person
can see the overall view of an idea and processes its information globally. They prefer
working in groups so they can express their own ideas as a whole. These persons tend to
major in subjects such as music, art, journalism, and architecture because of their ability
to process visual information simultaneously and holistically. The thinking and problem
solving attributes of a right brain person is characterized as imaginative, intuitive, artistic,
and visually oriented. These people do well in tasks calling for synthesizing and
conceptualizing abilities. They also have an integrative and more comprehensive view of
situations and problems. Right brain dominant people are thought of as the dreamers, the
artists, and the musicians of the world (Trampe, 2001).
Generally speaking, the right brain processes information spatially perceptive,
simultaneously and divergently. The right brain processes data simultaneously and
holistically, these kinds of persons are good in expressing their ideas. According to Ellen
Gagne, we can determine if the person is right brain dominant when he/ she is concerned
with creative activities , utilizing rhymes, music, visual impressions, colors and pictures.
Spontaneous and unpredictable, don't like reading directions, good at sports, art, and
recalling spatial imagery, prefer to work in a group than individual, and a dreamer is
some of the characteristics of a right brain dominant.
Bilateral Brain Dominance.This is a psychological term indicating that brain
function is pretty much equally shared between the left and right hemispheres of the
brain. Such individuals are thought to have better integration of thinking, not tending
dramatically toward either creative thinking or analytical thinking.
This refers to the students who uses there left and right brain hemisphere equally.
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Handedness
Handedness is the dominance of one hand over the other. It is the unequal
distribution of labor or motor skills between the left and right hands. It is the tendency of
people to be more skilled with one hand over the other, or sometimes can be merely their
preferred hand over the other (Mastin, 2012).
Handedness is referred to the preferred hand when doing manual tasks,
particularly writing, encoding, throwing, etc. Roughly 90% of humans are right-handed.
The term ambidexterity is often developed by left-handed children who are forced to
write with their right hand, thus giving them the ability to write with both hands.
Defining handedness is not clearly as simple as knowing which hand is used in
writing because many famous people (e.g. Babe Ruth, Martin Navratilova, Mike Weir,
Arnold Palmer, Bill Gates, Gerald Ford) prefers one hand in writing and the other hand in
doing other activities other than writing (http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/
measuring.html). Handedness is the result of human brain‟s unique development. While
the human mind is intuitively understood as a single entity, research in brain physiology
and anatomy has demonstrated that various areas of the brain control different mental
aptitudes, and the physiological structure of the brain affects our mental functions. The
brain‟s fundamental structure is dual (there are two cerebral hemispheres), and this
duality is an essential quality of the human body.
In this study, they are the students who use their hands in some simple tasks like
writing, eating, raising their hand when they want to recite and throwing.
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Right-Handedness.Right handedness is the dominance of the right hand over the
left hand of an individual. It is also called dextrality. It is the handedness where people
prefer, or primarily use, their right hand when doing manual tasks. It is referred to as the
most common handedness in the world. 90% of the overall population is right handed
(Corballis, 2007) and depending on the definitions used, 60% being strongly right-handed
or perform all their activities using their right hand.
It says that the right hand is more dominant compare to the left hand because
majority of the people in the world is right handed person. That is why most of the things
or equipment is typically made for right handed persons. They are the students‟ who uses
their right hand in doing some tasks most of the time, and are most left brain dominant
because, according to Price (2009) right-handed people have left-hemisphere-dominant
brains.
Left-Handedness.Left handedness or sinistrality is the dominance of the left hand
over the right hand of a person. It is the handedness where people prefer, or mainly use
their left hand in performing manual tasks and activities. There are only 10% of the
world‟s population falls into this category, but there is only 3% who are strongly left -
handed or people who perform all their activities with their left hand
(http://www.rightleftright wrong.com/what.html).
Considering this a typical group of population, one interesting point made by
Bosman (2004) was the negative orientation of the history toward left-handedness. He
browsed the history in order to refer to the negative connotations that have been attached
to the notion of left-handedness. To do so, he started with the etymology of the word
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“left” in different languages and comes up with negative sides of meaning in a number of
world languages. He therefore draws attention to some other anthropological examples of
right/left symbolism that proved the unkindness of the history to left-handers.
Left-handers are more numerous among people with reading disabilities, allergies,
and migraine headaches (Geschwind Behan, 1984). But left-handedness is also more
common among musicians, mathematicians, professional baseball and cricket players,
architects, and artists, including such luminaries as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,
and Picasso. Although left-handers must tolerate elbow-jostling at dinner parties, right-
handed desks, awkward scissors, it seems the pros and cons of being a lefty are roughly
equal (Left-handers are more numerous among people with reading disabilities, allergies,
and migraine headaches (Geschwind Behan, 1984).
Generally speaking only few people are considered left handed, because the
dominance of majority of the people is their right hand. These left handers are mostly
right brain dominant.
Memory
Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use
this information in the present. As a process, memory refers to the dynamic mechanisms
associated with retaining and retrieving information about our past experience (Stenberg,
1999).
Memory can be broken down into categories as defined by duration of retention
and purpose. Recognition is defined as a type of memory that involves noticing whether
or not a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced (Berk, 2010).
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Retention, simply defined, is an aspect of memory that involves either a short- or long-
term holding of information in the human brain (Cooper, Heron, &Heward, 2007).
Specifically, cognitive psychologists have identified three common operations of
memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each operation represents a stage in memory
processing. In encoding, you transform sensory data into a form of mental
representations; in storage, you keep encoded information in memory; and in retrieval,
you pull out on use information stored in memory Robert J. Stenberg (1999).
There are four theories that have further observations in memory: the Modal
Model Theory (Richard Atkinson-Richard Shiffrin, 1968) which proposed that the human
memory involves a sequence of three stages which are the sensory memory where this is
the initial or momentary recording of information in our sensory system; the short-term
memory where the information is selected by attention from sensory memory; and long-
term memory which provides lasting retention of information that ranges from a minute
to a lifetime. The Working Memory Model (Baddely and Hitch, 1974) which states that
the central executive acts as attention and channels the information to the three
component processes namely: the phonological loop which stores auditory information;
visuo-spatial sketchpad which stores visual and spatial information; and the episodic
buffer which is dedicated to linking information and chronological ordering. The Level of
Processing Approach (Craig and Lockhart, 1972) which tells that there is a basis for the
analysis of information: the shallow processing which is the analysis of information
based on physical and structural characteristics; and the deep processing which is the
analysis of information based on its meaning. And lastly, the Tulving‟s Multiple Memory
System (1972, 1993) which is composed of episodic, semantic, and procedural memory.
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The inability to recall, retrieve/organize information that is stored in a long-term
memory is the process of forgetting. It may be caused by decaying or death, interference,
failure to encode, or amnesia.
The memory is very important to mankind because its serves as the storage of
information and all the things we knew starting from our childhood until we grow old.
Sometimes some of the people are having difficulty in retrieving the information from
their brain dew to some brain problems.
Memory Retention
Memory retention is the capacity of the brain to retain as much as memory can be
stored to the brain (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Memory+retention). It is the term
used to describe how long or how many can a person memorize given information or
recall it for a given amount of time. The higher the memory retention of an individual, the
higher level of intelligence can be obtained.
This memory retention is the ability of our brain to recall or retrieve such
information which is stored for so many years. That is why some people can still
remember a situation even though it is happened for so many years ago.
Right Brain, Left Brain Theory
Roger W. Sperry (1994) concluded the right-brain, left brain theory when he
discovered that cutting the corpus collosum (the structure that connects the two
hemispheres of the brain) could reduce or eliminate seizures while studying the effects of
epilepsy.
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Other symptoms were experienced by the patients who have epilepsy after the
communication pathway between the two sides of the brain was cut. Many split-brain
patients were able to name objects that were processed by their left brain, but were not
able to name objects that processed by their right brain.
According to right brain, left brain theory, each side of the brain controls different
types of thinking. A person who is "left-brained" is often said to be more logical,
analytical and objective, while a person who is "right-brained" is said to be more
intuitive, thoughtful and subjective. This means that left side of the brain is considered to
be skillful at tasks that involve logic, language, critical thinking, numbers, reasoning and
analytical thinking, while the right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative
tasks.
In relation to the study, a student who is left side of the brain is dominant is good
in calculating, thinking, word puzzles, language, speech, and is realistic, while a student
who is right side of the brain is more dominant is good in art, recognizing faces, music,
intuition, images, color, reading emotion and is imaginative. Knowing the brain
dominance of students‟ plays a very important ro le in their study because, they can
change their learning style to help them to improve their academic performance.
Levels of Processing Theory
It is an influential theory of memory proposed by Craig and Lockhart (1972)
which rejected the idea of the dual store model of memory. This popular model
postulated that characteristics of a memory are determined by its "location" (ie, fragile
memory trace in short term store [STS] and a more durable memory trace in the long
term store [LTS]. Instead, Craig and Lockhart proposed that information could be
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processed in a number of different ways and the durability or strength of the memory
trace was a direct function of the depth of processing involved. Moreover, depth of
processing was postulated to fall on a shallow to deep range.
Shallow processing is the analysis of information based on physical and sensory
characteristics. It has two forms: the structural processing (appearance) where we only
encode the physical characteristics of a certain kind of information; and the other one is
the phonemic processing where we only encode its sound. Maintenance rehearsal
(repetition to help us hold something in the short term memory) is the only type of
rehearsal to take place within the multi-store model that leads to fairly short-term
retention of information.
Deep processing is the analysis of information based on meaning. It involves the
semantic processing. It happens when people used to encode the meaning of a word and
relate it to similar words with similar meanings. A more meaningful analysis and critical
thinking is involved in an elaboration rehearsal that is involved in a deep processing that
can lead to a better recall. Giving a self-definition for a word and setting an example that
would link them to a previous knowledge is an example of deep processing.
This theory explains how a level of processing affects memory retention. Students
who use shallow processing have a hard time in retaining and recalling information. But
if a student uses deeper level of processing, he/she can easily retain and recall/ retrieve
information. It is the idea that the way information is encoded affects how well it is
remembered. The deeper the level of processing, the easier the information is to recall.
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Hemispheric Dominance Theory
This theory recognizes that the entire brain is active at all times, and both
hemispheres are kept busy virtually by task, making it possible for learning to have the
commitment of both hemispheres. Kosslyn and Rosenberg (in Hermann, 2011) call it
thinking with both barrels.
The hemispheric specialization refers to the distinct roles that each of the two
hemispheres plays in thinking skills particularly in problem solving ability (Hermann,
2001). The terms left-brained and right brained are used to describe which hemisphere is
dominant in a person.
This theory says that the two sides of the brain, the right hemisphere and the left
hemisphere have different functions, they are always active and are always works
simultaneously.
Lateralization
It is the functional specialization of the brain with some skills as language,
occurring primarily in the left hemisphere and others as the perception of visual and
spatial relationships occurring primarily in the right hemisphere.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lateralization).
The human brain is divided into two hemispheres - left and right hemispheres.
Lateralization of brain function means that there are certain mental processes that are
mainly specialized to one side or the other. Most mental functions are distributed across
the hemispheres but there are specific processes that are specialized to one hemisphere.
For example, both sides of the brain perform functions related to language. But in most
people, grammar and vocabulary are localized to the left side of the brain, while
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understanding the emotional content of language is a function of the right hemisphere
(www.alley.com.(2013).
According to Khosravizadeh and Teimournezhad (2011), the functionality of the
two hemispheres is categorized into separate parts by some researchers. Chevalier, for
example, links some cognitive processes to the right side of the brain and concludes,
“The right hemisphere mostly works with the whole concepts, similarities, images and
meaning, emotions and intuition, rhythm and flow, humor and mood, and
farsightedness”.
On the other hand he argues that the “left hemisphere takes care of logic
differences, numbers and letters, reasoning and analysis, sequentiality, literal focus, and
details” (quoted by Bosman, 2004). The significant point to be repeated in this regard is
the fact that -as admitted also by Chevalier himself- this is not a full dichotomous concept
and the borderline between the cognitive functions of the two sides of the brain is not as
clear as it may seem here. Language is a frequently cited example of such lateralized
functions, for which the interaction of the two hemispheres is frequently reported in the
literature.
Handedness and Lateralization
Handedness is often seen as a by-product of brain lateralization in human beings,
which is also at work in the development of language among them. Nevertheless, what
remains ambiguous is the fact that why it does not affect all the human beings. In fact, a
minor group of the population of every culture (5% – 15%) is found to be left-handed.
For long, it has been proven that, in case of human beings, the two concepts of brain
lateralization for language and handedness are interconnected to a large degree. The
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relationship is in a way that right-hemisphere dominance for language is found more in
case of left-handers than in right-handers. However, the exact nature of such a link is still
under doubt.
With regard to this claim, it worth pointing out here that some advantages have
been reported for left-handedness, for which the likelihood of right hemisphere
dominance for language is more than that of right handed people. However, the exact
nature of such a link is still under doubt. Deutsch and Springer, for example, assert that
for the thirty percent of left-handers whose speech is in the right-hemisphere, because of
proximity of the brain parts which are at work for verbal and non-verbal abilities, these
two types of skills are more interconnected and interwoven (Field, 2004). Khosravizadeh
and Teimournezhad, 2011).
In relevance to the study, the hand that use by a person has significant relationship
with the brain. The left hemisphere controls the right part of our body, while the left
hemisphere controls the right part of the body. Meaning, we can control our hands using
our brain.
General Features of Handedness
According to Marchant& McGrew (1998), there are two important feature of
handedness. They conclude that, these features are not fully proven by the literature, and
there are limitations to what have been done in this regard and more ethnographical
studies are called for.
Uniqueness. It is the 1st
important feature of handedness according to Marchant&
McGrew (1998). Early literature on psychology reveals that handedness is unique to
human beings only. Other species are thought to be evenly distributed between left- and
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right- preference. However, the empirical data from the studies done by MacNeilage et al.
challenge these views. They claimed that handedness is wide spread among other species,
especially simians as well (Marchant and McGrew, 1998).
Such contradictory findings of researches prove that for the moment nothing can
be claimed confidently about the uniqueness of handedness to humans, as Marchant&
McGraw (1998) truly summarize. Yet, there are evidences for hand preference among
some species, which still provide no enough support for the existence of handedness or
hand specialization among them.
A point to be made here is the fact that the same struggle exists between the
scholars regarding lateralization of the brain among species. There have been much
evidences about the lateralization and limb preference among other species, however, not
all scholars have been convinced and are still regarding human beings as being unique in
this regard. On the other hand, others, Corballis (2009) for example, just recently
admitted that the empirical evidences proved that lateralization does exist in other
vertebrate species. Rogers (2007) quotes him as saying: „„some of our lateralized
activities may well be distinctive to our own species, but cerebral lateralization itself is
not‟‟. This claim is in line with what has been reviewed by Sun and Walsh, who, taking
handedness as an evidence for lateralization concluded that human beings are the only
species who have more than 90% bias to use one hand over the other.
Universality.Universality is the 2nd
feature of handedness. It has to do with the
fact that people from all societies show evidences of right-hand dominance in performing
tasks, however the portion stated by the researchers are different due to the fact that their
studies were all limited in terms of size of sampling or aspects of methodology.
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Nevertheless, even small- scaled studies revealed that neither geography, nor schooling
play any role in the likelihood of handedness among different populations (Marchant&
McGrew, 1998).
Handedness is related to memory via hemispheric interaction: Evidence from paired
associate recall and source memory tasks.
Strongly right (SR)- handedness is associated with poorer memory performance
than non-strongly right (nSR)- handedness (e.g., Propper, Christman, &Phaneuf, 2005).
The hemispheric interaction theory states that the nSR memory advantage occurs because
nSR handedness, compared with SR, is a behavioral marker for greater interaction of the
cerebral hemispheres. The hemispheric interaction theory predicts that the nSR advantage
should be observed exclusively on memory tasks that require hemispheric interaction.
The authors (Lyle et. al, 2008) tested that prediction by comparing middle-aged and older
adults on two memory tasks thought to depend on hemispheric interaction (paired
associate recall, source memory) and two thought not to (face recognition, forward digit
span). An nSR advantage was more robust for middle-aged than older subjects and,
consistent with the hemispheric interaction theory, was found only on the tasks that
depend on hemispheric interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights
reserved).
Neurological Theory of Handedness
According to Mastin (2012), one theory for the existence of handedness and hand
preference in humans, and particularly for the dominance of right-handedness, arises
from brain neurology, and the way in which fine motor skills are processed in the brain.
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In most people, the left hemisphere of the brain is largely responsible for language
processing and for speaking (which is an activity that employs many fine motor skills,
involving the mouth, tongue, etc). The left hemisphere of the brain is also responsible for
coordinating the movement and motor skills of the right side of the body, with the right
hemisphere largely controlling the left side of the body. It is argued by some that it
is more efficient, and requires less energy consumption, for the brain to process these two
important fine motor skill functions in the same hemisphere of the brain, hence the right-
hand/left-hemisphere dominance of the majority of the population. The theory also goes
some way to explaining why non-humans, who lack the faculty of speech, have not
developed hand dominance to anything like the same extent as humans.
This idea is supported to some extent by a 2010 French study, which showed that,
when people hear spoken syllables, there is synchronized neural activity in the areas in
the left hemisphere of the brain which are involved in both speech and in hand and mouth
motions. There is no such synchronized activity in response to smaller units of speech
(phonemes). The study authors suggest that our brains are hard-wired to process speech
and language and gestures on the same side of the brain, which, for the right-handed
majority of people, is the left side. This also supports the idea that speech initially arose
from a combination of short sounds and hand gestures, typically made with the dominant
right hand.
Dominance, handedness and lateralization in terms of individuality
According to Ilja (2009), hemispheric dominance or brain dominance is an
important form of dominance since the two hemispheres actually differ in structure and
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function. Research done by Broca and Wernicke resulted in the identification of the
language centers in the brain that were only present in one hemisphere. Broca and
Wernicke both worked with patients who suffered from different forms of aphasia‟s (the
inability to understand language, process language or form coherent sentences) (Lee,
1997). Using this information they were able to identify specific structures in the brain
responsible for language. The same was done for the non-verbal or visual parts of the
brain. Since the brain is asymmetrical the question of dominance is also a question of the
nature of processing that is preferred in the brain (Morris, 2007 and Bobby-Evans, 2009).
The specialization of specific functions in one half of the brain is called brain
lateralization. The specialization of these specific parts of the brain is thought to make it
more efficient and save space as well as resources (Harvey, 2009).
The link between handedness and hemispheric dominance is based on the simple
logic that one‟s preferred hand must mean that the hemisphere controlling this hand is
also preferred (Ilja, 2009). This means that right-side of the brain is dominant in left-
handers while the left-side of the brain is dominant in right-handers, since the brain
works contra-laterally (meaning that the left-side of the brain is responsible for the right-
side of the body and reversed) (Holder and Bobby Evans, 2009). In most people the
verbal processing (assumed to be more linear and sequential) is located on the left-side of
the brain, and the non-verbal processing (thought to be more holistic and random) on the
right-side of the brain (http://www.web-us.com/brain/LRBrain.html., 2005). As we saw
before the definition of handedness is not that simple, there are varying degrees of
handedness, and the same is true for the lateralization of the brain. Furthermore, not
everyone has this traditional organization of the brain, a small percentage of people have
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a reversed organization of the structures in their respective hemispheres (from this small
percentage the majority is left-handed) (Bobby-Evans, 2009).
Although the general structure of the brain might be similar in most individuals,
this does not mean that left-handedness will result in right-side dominance of the brain.
There are many factors and varying degrees of lateralization involved in determining
hemispheric dominance as well as handedness. Handedness for example, is influenced by
genetics, learning and chance (hormone levels and conditions during pregnancy are also
thought to have an influence) (Hobbson and Dittmar, 2002). The factors determining
hemispheric dominance could be similar to those determining handedness but this does
not always have to be the case. Similarly, it is hard to isolate one single factor and see if
it is truly important in determining dominance or not. We can therefore say that it is
better to use The Wada test or brain scans over handedness as an indicator of hemispheric
dominance (Buchtel, 2004).
Synthesis
The brain dominance and handedness are related based on the literatures that the
researchers found. Brain dominance can be identified theoretically by determining the
handedness of a person. According to Price (2009) mostly left-handed people are right-
brain dominant while mostly right-handed people are left-brain dominant. Memory is also
related to brain dominance because brain dominance determines the skills or interests of a
person that helps him/her learn new information easily by its own way of learning. A
person‟s thinking process is determined by the unique way of thinking of the brain. The
left and right hemispheres of the brain have its own unique function that helps people
retain information. According to Ellen Gagne, people who are left brain dominant are
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more on academic than people who are right brain dominant while right brain dominant
are more on sports and arts.
Brain dominance can be a factor that helps people retain information and it can be
determined by knowing the handedness of a person. If people know how to determine
their brain dominance, it can help them learn many things in their own learning style.
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METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design and participants of the study. It also
highlights the sampling and data gathering procedure and also the instruments and
statistical that was used in the study.
Research Design
In this study the researchers will be use the Ex Post facto design. This design is
conducted using events that have already taken place and are impossible to experiment. It
also refers to those studies which investigate possible cause and effect relationship by
observing an existing condition or state of affairs and searching back in time for possible
causal factors.
Sampling Procedures
The researchers will use the Stratified Random Sampling in selecting the
participants. Stratified Random Sample is a probability sampling technique in which the
researchers divides the entire target population into different subgroups or strata and then
randomly selects the final subjects proportionally from the different strata. The
participants were selected 4th
year high school students in TreceMartires City National
High School ( Main Campus, Cabezas Annex and Conchu Annex ), Luis Aguado
National High School and Francisco National High. The researchers will use the Slovin‟s
formula to get the sample size School.
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Participants of the Study
The participants will be selected 4th
year high school students approximately 15 to
20 years of age who are in the adolescence stage and can be a male or a female in
TreceMartires City National High School ( Main Campus, Cabezas Annex and Conchu
Annex ), Luis Aguado National High School and Francisco Osorio National High School.
The participants is compose of 327 students. 186 students in TreceMartires City National
High School ( Main Campus ) 18 students in ( Cabezas Annex ) 21 students in ( Conchu
Annex ), 68 students in Luis Aguado National High School and 34 students in Francisco
Osorio National High School.
Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers requested permission from the Principal of TreceMartires City
National High School ( Main Campus, Cabezas Annex and Conchu Annex ), Luis
Aguado National High School and Francisco National High School to secure a copy of
list of names of 4th
year high school students.
This study will be conducted at TreceMartires City, Cavite from November to
January 2014 where the researchers will select the 4th
year high school students as their
participants. There are two instruments that will be used to gather data needed in this
study. The brain Dominance Questionnaire designed by Mariani (1996) and a Memory
Test.
First, the researchers will administer the questionnaire to the respondents. To
ensure the confidentiality of the respondents, the researchers will secure the questionnaire
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personally. Then after the administrating, the researchers will tabulate the score of the
participants. Lastly, the researchers will interpret all the data they will gather
Research Instrument
The researchers lifted a standardized test entitled Brain Dominance Questionnaire
designed by Mariani (1996). It consists of 15 items to measure whether the students are
left brained or right brained.
Scoring.
The questionnaire measures the brain dominance that is recognized as:
Brain Dominance Score
Left- brain dominant (very strong) -15 to -13
Left-brain dominant -12 to -9
Moderate preference for the left -8 to -5
Slight Preference toward the left -4 to -1
Whole brain dominance (bilateral) 0
Slight preference toward the right dominance (bilateral) +1 to +4
Moderate preference for the right +5 to +8
Right-brain dominant +9 to +12
Right-brain dominant (very strong) +13 to +15
Interpretation of Brain Dominance
The following are the interpretation of Left brain dominant and Right brain
dominant.
Left brain dominance
Logical – capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning.
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Linear, Sequential - low – intensity stimulus activates processing, dislikes
excessive point.
Rational – having reason or understanding.
Analytical – Reasoning or acting from a perception of the parts and interrelations
of a subject.
Right brain dominance
Intuitive- makes decisions based on feelings.
Divergent – solves problem through imagination.
Corrector – prefer adjustments during the task..
Interpretation of Memory Test
Scoring
Average 7 to 10
High 11 to 14
Very High 15 to 16
Statistical Analysis
Frequency and Mean will be used to answer and analyze data for the first, second
and third statement of the problem. Frequency is the number of measurements in an
interval of a frequency distribution. Mean is is one of the most useful and widely used
method to find out the average in statistics. It is calculated by adding up all the number
and dividing that sum by the total number of numbers.
The formula for Mean is as stated below:
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∑ - represents the summation
X- represents scoresN- represents number of scores.
T- Test will be used to answer and analyze data for the fourth and fifth statement
of the problem. T – Test is a statistical test involving confidence limits for the
randomvariable t of a t distribution and used especially in testing hypotheses about means
of normal distributions when the standard deviations are unknown.
Correlation will be used to answer and analyze data for the sixth statement of the
problem. Correlation is the degree which two or more attributes or measurements on the
same group if elements show a tendency to vary together.
The researchers will use t- test. T – test is a statistical test involving means of
normal populations with unknown standard deviations; small samples are used, based on
a variable t equal to the difference between the mean of the sample and the mean of the
population divided by a result obtained by dividing the standard deviation of the sample
by the square root of the number of individuals in the sample.