Lateral Eye Movements, Hemispheric Asymmetry and Gender Differences: A Replication

Kinsbourne\u27s (1972) hemispheric activation model proposes that the left and right cerebral hemispheres are activated differentially in response to different question sets depending on the type of information being processed (verbal or spatial). Further, Kinsbourne argues that this activation may be measured by the direction of lateral eye movements (LEMs) following a given type of question. Using two types of question sets (verbal and spatial), two modes of question presentation (visual and auditory), and male and female college students, the present study obtained mixed results, many of which failed to support a number of predictions derived from the hemispheric activation model. In particular, the data suggest that the female brain is not necessarily less lateralized than the male brain, but rather, may be lateralized in a different manner than that of the male brain. Spatial question do not appear to differentially activate the right hemisphere (generally considered involved with spatial processing) nor do verbal questions primarily elicit left hemispheric processing (generally considered Involved with verbal processing). These results are discussed in terms of the utility of using LEMs to measure activation of the two cerebral hemispheres