As the people of the world gab away on their Smartphones, we may want to take a closer look. According to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital, the ear people use to listen to their phone suggests which side of the brain they use most.
It works in a counterintuitive way, just like hand-dominance: People who listen with their right ear are actually left-brain dominant, and those use their left ear are right-brained. Typically, left-brain people are considered more “analytical” and right-brained people more “creative”—think accountant versus artist.
In most people, the left hemisphere of the brain relates more to processing language, focusing attention and controlling negative emotions, whereas the right-side is all about expression and emotion.
So can you go lurking down the sidewalk, sizing people up just by how they’re holding their iPhone? Maybe, maybe not. What the researchers do know is that most people listen to their phone with their right ear, and over 70 percent listen with the ear on the same side as their dominant hand.