Lateral Movement of Human Eyes While Processing Information - Coursework Example

Team Project Studies on the various functions of human brain have been a major area of research for many scientists and researchers. Such studies have proved that the brain has got two parts the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere; and all the human functions are controlled by either of these. As David Gaman states, “visual thinking is considered right-hemisphere-controlled, while verbal (i.e., language-based) thinking is considered to be controlled by the left hemisphere.” (Gamon, 2002.). In the 1970s Paul Bakan conducted a seminal study on the lateral movement of human eyes while processing information. He observed the eye movements of many people and came to a conclusion that people tend to have lateral right eye movements while they processed answers to the questions that involved verbal content. These lateral eye movements are regulated by the left hemisphere of the brain and that is why “Damage to the brains left side often undermines language abilities.” (Bower, 2002). He also held that there is a lateral left eye movement while processing answers to the questions that necessitated spatial skills. The study threw light on the lateralization of brain functions and one is astonished to observe similar eye movements as postulated by him. The purpose of our team project was to find out how far his theory on the lateralization of eye movements was applicable to a selected number of people who participated in our observation test. For this, we used a questionnaire which consisted of 20 questions (See Appendix 1). In order to process the information regarding these questions, one had to employ either his/her verbal or spatial skills. The first 10 questions were focused on the verbal skills of participants and our purpose here was to see whether the participants made lateral left eye movements while trying to answer them. The participants needed to exercise their spatial skills to answer the next 10 questions. The emphasis here was to observe whether the participants made lateral left eye movements while they processed information on these questions. Method: A sample group which consisted of 15 participants was selected for this purpose. 8 of them were males; the average age group of the selected sample was 18-22. We also selected a retired professor aged 58 and a high school student aged 13, to see whether age could make any difference to the findings of the test. A questionnaire which consisted of twenty questions (10 of them associated with verbal skills and the other associated with the spatial skills of participants) was prepared beforehand. We followed three different ways of presenting the questions:- 1. The actual order of questions was maintained. The participants were asked the first 10 questions that required verbal skills and their responses were recorded. Later, they were asked to respond to the next ten questions that tested their spatial skills and the corresponding eye movements were taken into account. 2. Questions were put to the participants from both categories one after the other. Thus, they answered one question that belonged to the verbal content which was immediately followed by another from the spatial content. 3. Questions were put in the random order without following any strict patterns. The participants were asked to sit straight and look ahead, so that their eye-movements were clearly visible. However, the real purpose of the test was not revealed to them until all the questions were asked and the answers received. Thus, every effort was taken to ensure the best outcome. Results of the team project: The result of our study were very much in support of Paul Bakan’s theory that there is obviously a relationship between the nature of information that is processed and the lateral movement of the human eye. Except for a few instances, we could clearly see the lateral right side movement of the eyes whenever a question associated with verbal content was put to them and a reverse eye movement when the content required was a spatial one. As it is clear from Table No.2 (Appendix 2), the study brought out a total percentage of 98 favorable responses which reinforced the validity of Bakan’s theory. The positive responses to the verbal questions by the participants reached up to 97.33%, whereas it was comparatively higher with regard to questions that required spatial content to process the answer (98.67%). Except for three verbal questions and one spatial question, all the responses were absolutely positive. We couldn’t record Michael’s (4th participant) eye movement when he answered the third question (What is meant by the proverb, "One today is worth two tomorrows?"), as his eyes moved downwards. In the same way two of our participants -Shaun and Thomson (11th and 20th participants respectively) – answered the fifth question (Spell the word "receipt.") without any clear visible lateral right eye movements. Their answers to the question were so fast that it seemed that both of them knew the spelling of the word for certain that they did not need much thought process to answer the question. Thomson, the retired professor, also answered the 8th question (Give me a synonym for the word "lucid."), not showing any signs of lateral right eye movements. All other responses to the questions, which required verbal skills while processing their answers, were in support of Bakan’s theory. Compared to the verbal questions, a much clearer lateral left movement of the eyes were visible when the participants answered questions related to spatial skills. Except for the last question (What is the total number of sides in a cube?), all the other questions associated with spatial content had favorable responses from the participants. The question was answered by both Ana and Martina (5th and 8th participants respectively) without any clear lateral left eye movements. The team project also convinced us that age doesn’t play any roles in the eye movement of the participants as Pamela, a high school student (6th participant- see Appendix 3), made positive responses to all the sample questions. We were also able to elicit responses from the participants through different the ways in which we put the questions. Conclusion: The study, thus, convinced us of the validity and practical usage of the hypothesis that people tend to make lateral right eye movements while processing information that required verbal skills. It also pointed out the involuntary lateral left movement of the eyes while processing information connected with spatial content. This lateral movement of the eyes is to be connected with the functioning of the two sides of the brain. As David Gaman remarks, “The eye field on the right side of the brain is linked to the left field of vision, and controls eye movement to the left, while the left-brain eye field connects to the right field of vision and controls rightward LEMs.” (Gaman, 2007). This understanding regarding the left-right eye movements can help one to confirm which side of the brain is dominant in a person through constant observation. The project work was interesting to all our team mates as we could apply the theory to practical usage. It was also interesting to note that many of our participants applied this theory themselves by asking similar questions to their friends and observing their eye movements closely.  References Gamon, David. Ph.D. (January 3, 2002). The Human Mind. The KGM Group, Inc.( Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://www.sciencemaster.com/columns/archives/gamon_11_01.php Bower, B. (June 15, 2002). Brains Show Two Sides OF Language Functions - Hemispheric Cross Talk - Brief Article. Science News. FindArticles. LookSmart Ltd. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_24_161/ai_88582290 Appendix 1 Table No: 1 Questionnaire Q.No Questions that require Verbal skills to answer: No of favorable responses No of “no score” responses Total no of favorable responses 1. Make up a sentence that uses the verbs "is" and "were." 15 0 15/15 2. Define the word "economics." 15 0 15/15 3. What is meant by the proverb, "One today is worth two tomorrows?" 14 1 14/15 4. How many syllables are in the word "Mississippi"? 15 0 15/15 5. Spell the word "receipt." 13 2 13/15 6. Define the word "travesty." 15 0 15/15 7. What is the major difference between the meanings of the words "brain" and "mind"? 15 0 15/15 8. Give me a synonym for the word "lucid." 14 1 14/15 9. Give me an antonym for the word "ridicule." 15 0 15/15 10. In the alphabet, how many letters come between the letter "D" and the letter "J"? 15 0 15/15 Questions that require spatial skills to answer: 11. On the face of a quarter, does the face of George Washington look to the right or to the left? 15 0 15/15 12. Imagine a rectangle. Draw a line from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner. What two figures do you see? 15 0 15/15 13. At home, is your bed parallel or perpendicular to the street that runs in front of your house? 15 0 15/15 14. Try to picture all the door knobs in your home and tell me how many there are. 15 0 15/15 15. If you were to stand up right now, which way would you turn in order to face in the direction of Canada? 15 0 15/15 16. If you were in Philadelphia, in what direction would you travel in order to get to Atlantic City? 15 0 15/15 17. Imagine that you are watching two cars moving in the same direction at 50 miles per hour. One of the cars is close to you and the other is far from you. Which one of the cars will seem to be traveling faster? 15 0 15/15 18. Visualize the normal trip from your house to work. What is the second turn that you make in your trip? Is it a right turn or a left turn? 15 0 15/15 19. Compared to what the moon looks like when its on the horizon, does it appear to be bigger or smaller when its directly overhead? 15 0 15/15 20. What is the total number of sides in a cube? 13 2 13/15 Appendix 2 Table No: 2 Individual response sheet of participants:- (N.B:- The favorable responses of the participants are marked with the ‘+’ symbol and the “no-score responses are marked with the ‘-‘symbol.) List of participants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total no of favorable responses for each question Age & Sex 18 M 19 F 20 M 22 M 18 F 13 F 19 M 21 F 20 M 18 F 22 M 21 F 18 M 21 F 58 M Question 1 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 2 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 3 + + + - + + + + + + + + + + + 14 Question 4 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 5 + + + + + + + + + + - + + + - 13 Question 6 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 7 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 8 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - 14 Question 9 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 10 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 11 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 12 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 13 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 14 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 15 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 16 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 17 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 18 Question + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 19 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 15 Question 20 + + + + - + + - + + + + + + + 13 Total favorable responses for each participant 20 20 20 19 19 20 20 19 20 20 19 20 20 20 18 Total percentage of favorable responses made to the verbal questions 97.33% Total percentage of favorable responses made to the spatial questions 98.67% Total percentage of favorable responses made by all the respondents to all questions 98.00% Appendix 3 Table No.3 List of Participants:- No Name of the participant Age(Sex) 1. Jennifer P. 18(M) 2. Anne George 19(F) 3. Christopher R. 20(M) 4. Michael N.P 22(M) 5. Ana John 18(F) 6. Pamela P. 13(F) 7. Jack Ben 19(M) 8. Martina 21(F) 9. Anderson K 20(M) 10. Christine 18(F) 11. Shaun 22(M) 12. Maria 21(F) 13. Robertson 18(M) 14. Gladys 21(F) 15. Thomson 58(M) Read More