Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument
Encyclopedia
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) is a system claimed to measure and describe thinking preferences in people, developed by William "Ned" Herrmann
while leading management education at General Electric
's Crotonville facility. It is a type of cognitive style
measurement and model similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
, Learning Orientation Questionnaire, DISC assessment
, and others.
His theory was inspired by the research into left-right brain laterilization by Roger Wolcott Sperry
, Robert Ornstein
, Henry Mintzberg
, and Michael Gazzaniga
and further developed to reflect a metaphor
for how individuals think and learn. Use of that metaphor brought later criticism by brain researchers such as Terence Hines
for being overly simplistic.
Herrmann also coined the concept Whole Brain Thinking as a description of flexibility in using thinking styles that one may cultivate in individuals or in organizations allowing the situational use of all four styles of thinking.
A 1985 dissertation by C. Bunderson, currently CEO of the non-profit EduMetrics Institute which has an ongoing business relationship with Herrmann International, is published on the Herrmann International website. It asserts that "four stable, discrete clusters of preference exist", "scores derived from the instrument are valid indicators of the four clusters", and "The scores permit valid inferences about a person's preferences and avoidances for each of these clusters of mental activity".
, noted that "there appears to be little or no published independent evaluation of several self-report measures developed as management training tools. [including] Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument."
However, some find usefulness in self reporting measurements. Researchers G.P. Hodgkinson and E. Sadler-Smith in 2003 found cognitive style indicators generally useful for studying organizations. However in a critique of the Cognitive Style Index indicator they opined that progress in the field had been "hampered by a proliferation of alternative constructs and assessment instruments" many unreliable with a lack of agreement over nomenclature.
To measure self-report consistency, a differential item functioning
review of HBDI was published in 2007 by Jared Lees. However, his tests were supported by EduMetrics, a company on contract with Herrmann International to evaluate the system, and were therefore not completely independent.
theory championed by Gazzaniga and others that associates each of the four thinking styles with a particular locus in the human brain. Analytical and sequential styles are associated with left brain and interpersonal and imaginative styles are associated with right brain, for example. Ned Herrmann described dominance of a particular thinking style with dominance with a portion of a brain hemisphere.
The notion of hemisphere dominance attracted criticism from the neuroscience community, notably by Terence Hines who called it "pop psychology" based on unpublished EEG
data. He asserts that current literature instead found that both hemispheres are always involved in cognitive tasks and attempting to strengthen a specific hemisphere does not improve creativity, for example. Hines stated "No evidence is presented to show that these 'brain dominance measures' measure anything related to the differences between the two hemispheres. In other words, no evidence of validity [of hemisphere dominance] is presented."
A study published in the peer reviewed Creativity Research Journal in 2005 by J. Meneely and M. Portillo agreed that creativity is not localized into a particular thinking style, such as a right-brain dominance resulting in more creativity. They did however find correlation between creativity in design students based on how flexible they were using all four thinking styles equally as measured by the HBDI. When students were less entrenched in a specific style of thinking they measured higher creativity using Domino’s Creativity Scale (ACL-Cr). Therefore, they found training thinking styles associated by Herrmann as right hemisphere did not necessarily improve creativity, but training in thinking styles that measured less strongly in the instrument would produce greater creativity.
Ned Herrmann
William Edward "Ned" Herrmann is known for his research in creative thinking and whole-brain methods.He spent the last 20 years dedicating his life to applying brain dominance theory to teaching, learning, increasing self-understanding and enhancing creative thinking capabilities on both an...
while leading management education at General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
's Crotonville facility. It is a type of cognitive style
Cognitive style
Cognitive style or "thinking style" is a term used in cognitive psychology to describe the way individuals think, perceive and remember information. Cognitive style differs from cognitive ability , the latter being measured by aptitude tests or so-called intelligence tests...
measurement and model similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions...
, Learning Orientation Questionnaire, DISC assessment
DISC assessment
DISC is a group of psychological inventories developed by John Geier, and others, and based on the 1928 work of psychologist William Moulton Marston and the original behavioralist Walter V. Clarke and others.-History:...
, and others.
Brain Dominance Model
In his brain dominance model, Herrmann identifies four different modes of thinking:- A. Analytical thinking
- Key words : Auditive,logical, factual, critical, technical and quantitative.
- Preferred activities : collecting data, analysis, understanding how things work, judging ideas based on facts, criteria and logical reasoning.
- B. Sequential thinking
- Key words : safekeeping, structured, organized, complexity or detailed, planned.
- Preferred activities : following directions, detail oriented work, step-by-step problem solving, organization and implementation.
- C. Interpersonal thinking
- Key words : Kinesthetic, emotional, spiritual, sensory, feeling.
- Preferred activities : listening to and expressing ideas, looking for personal meaning, sensory input, and group interaction.
- D. Imaginative thinking
- Key words : Visual, holistic, intuitive, innovative, and conceptual.
- Preferred activities : Looking at the big picture, taking initiative, challenging assumptions, visuals, metaphoric thinking, creative problem solving, long term thinking.
His theory was inspired by the research into left-right brain laterilization by Roger Wolcott Sperry
Roger Wolcott Sperry
Roger Wolcott Sperry was a neuropsychologist, neurobiologist and Nobel laureate who, together with David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel, won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with split-brain research....
, Robert Ornstein
Robert Ornstein
Dr. Robert Evan Ornstein is a psychologist, researcher and writer.He has taught at the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, based at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco, and been professor at Stanford University and chairman of the Institute for the Study of Human...
, Henry Mintzberg
Henry Mintzberg
Professor Henry Mintzberg, is an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management. He is currently the Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at the Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he has been teaching since...
, and Michael Gazzaniga
Michael Gazzaniga
Michael S. Gazzaniga is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he heads the new SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind. He is one of the leading researchers in cognitive neuroscience, the study of the neural basis of mind...
and further developed to reflect a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for how individuals think and learn. Use of that metaphor brought later criticism by brain researchers such as Terence Hines
Terence Hines
-Career:*Adjunct Professor of Neurology at New York Medical College.*Professor of Psychology at Pace University, Pleasantville, New York.- Works :*1987 Pseudoscience and the Paranormal; ISBN 0879754125...
for being overly simplistic.
Herrmann also coined the concept Whole Brain Thinking as a description of flexibility in using thinking styles that one may cultivate in individuals or in organizations allowing the situational use of all four styles of thinking.
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument
The format of the instrument is a 120 question online test which claims to determine which of the model's four styles of thinking is a dominant preference. More than one style may be dominant at once in this model. For example, in Herrmann's presentation a person may be dominant in both analytical and sequential styles of thinking but be weaker in interpersonal or imaginative modes, though he asserts all people use all styles to varying degrees.A 1985 dissertation by C. Bunderson, currently CEO of the non-profit EduMetrics Institute which has an ongoing business relationship with Herrmann International, is published on the Herrmann International website. It asserts that "four stable, discrete clusters of preference exist", "scores derived from the instrument are valid indicators of the four clusters", and "The scores permit valid inferences about a person's preferences and avoidances for each of these clusters of mental activity".
Training
Based on the instrument and model, organizations such as Herrmann International and Herrmann Institute offer programs, books, games, and coaching claiming to improve personal or group communication, creativity, and other benefits.Self Reporting
Measurements that require people to state preferences between terms have received criticism. Researchers C. W. Allinson and J. Hayes, in their own 1996 publication of a competing cognitive style indicator called Cognitive Style Index in the peer reviewed Journal of Management StudiesJournal of Management Studies
The Journal of Management Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1963 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for the Advancement of Management Studies. The journal publishes both conceptual and empirical papers in the field of management...
, noted that "there appears to be little or no published independent evaluation of several self-report measures developed as management training tools. [including] Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument."
However, some find usefulness in self reporting measurements. Researchers G.P. Hodgkinson and E. Sadler-Smith in 2003 found cognitive style indicators generally useful for studying organizations. However in a critique of the Cognitive Style Index indicator they opined that progress in the field had been "hampered by a proliferation of alternative constructs and assessment instruments" many unreliable with a lack of agreement over nomenclature.
To measure self-report consistency, a differential item functioning
Differential item functioning
Differential item functioning occurs when people from different groups with the same latent trait have a different probability of giving a certain response on a questionnaire or test. DIF analysis provides an indication of unexpected behavior by item on a test...
review of HBDI was published in 2007 by Jared Lees. However, his tests were supported by EduMetrics, a company on contract with Herrmann International to evaluate the system, and were therefore not completely independent.
Lateralization
Herrmann International describes an underlying basis for HBDI in the lateralization of brain functionLateralization of brain function
A longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. The sides resemble each other and each hemisphere's structure is generally mirrored by the other side. Yet despite the strong anatomical similarities, the functions of each...
theory championed by Gazzaniga and others that associates each of the four thinking styles with a particular locus in the human brain. Analytical and sequential styles are associated with left brain and interpersonal and imaginative styles are associated with right brain, for example. Ned Herrmann described dominance of a particular thinking style with dominance with a portion of a brain hemisphere.
The notion of hemisphere dominance attracted criticism from the neuroscience community, notably by Terence Hines who called it "pop psychology" based on unpublished EEG
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
data. He asserts that current literature instead found that both hemispheres are always involved in cognitive tasks and attempting to strengthen a specific hemisphere does not improve creativity, for example. Hines stated "No evidence is presented to show that these 'brain dominance measures' measure anything related to the differences between the two hemispheres. In other words, no evidence of validity [of hemisphere dominance] is presented."
Creativity
Herrmann offered creativity workshops based on strengthening particular thinking styles and strengthening the right hemisphere, which received critiques that creativity is not localized to a particular thinking style nor to a particular hemisphere.A study published in the peer reviewed Creativity Research Journal in 2005 by J. Meneely and M. Portillo agreed that creativity is not localized into a particular thinking style, such as a right-brain dominance resulting in more creativity. They did however find correlation between creativity in design students based on how flexible they were using all four thinking styles equally as measured by the HBDI. When students were less entrenched in a specific style of thinking they measured higher creativity using Domino’s Creativity Scale (ACL-Cr). Therefore, they found training thinking styles associated by Herrmann as right hemisphere did not necessarily improve creativity, but training in thinking styles that measured less strongly in the instrument would produce greater creativity.
Further reading
- Ned Herrmann (1990) The Creative Brain, Brain Books, Lake Lure, North Carolina. ISBN 0-944850-02-2. ISBN 978-0-944850-02-2.
- Ned Herrmann (1996) The Whole Brain Business Book, McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
, New York, NY. ISBN 0-07-028462-8. ISBN 978-0-07-028462-3. - Giannini, John L. (1984) Compass of the Soul: Archetypal Guides to a Fuller Life. ISBN 0-935652-70-1. ISBN 978-0-935652-70-3.
- Edward Lumsdaine, M. Lumsdaine (1994) Creative Problem Solving, McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
ISBN 0-07-039091-6. ISBN 978-0-07-039091-1. - Peter Ferdinand Drucker, David Garvin, Dorothy Leonard, Susan Straus, and John Seely Brown. (1998). Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management. Harvard Business School PressHarvard Business School PublishingHarvard Business Publishing was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. Its mission is to improve the practice of management and its impact in a changing world. The company consists of three market groups: Higher Education, Corporate Learning, and Harvard...
ISBN 0-87584-881-8. ISBN 978-0-87584-881-5. - Sala, Sergio Della, Editor (1999). Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain, J. Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, New York. ISBN 0-471-98303-9. ISBN 978-0-471-98303-3.