Top Brain, Bottom Brain ― Surprising Insights into How You Think

In this groundbreaking contribution to the literature of human personality, a celebrated psychologist and an award-winning author offer an exciting new way of thinking about our minds—and ourselves—based on a new way of looking at the brain.

With cowriter G. Wayne Miller, Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn, a leader in the field of cognitive neuroscience, explains an exciting new theory of the brain for the first time. Summarizing extensive research in an inviting and accessible way, Kosslyn and Miller describe how the top and bottom parts of the brain work together, producing four modes of thought: Mover, Adaptor, Stimulator, and Perceiver. These ways of thinking and behaving shape your personality, and with the scientifically developed test provided in the book, you’ll quickly be able to determine which mode best defines your dominant mode of thought. Once you’ve identified your dominant cognitive mode, the possible practical applications are limitless, from how you conduct business, to your romantic relationships, to your voyage of personal discovery.

For the past fifty years, popular culture has led us to believe in the left brain vs. right brain theory of personality types. Right-brain people, we’ve been told, are artistic, intuitive, and thoughtful, whereas left-brain people tend to be more analytical, logical, and objective. It would be an illuminating theory if it did not have one major drawback: It is simply not supported by science. In contrast, the new theory is based on solid research that has stayed within the confines of labs all over the world—until now.

Stephen M. Kosslyn, PhD, is founding dean of the Minerva Schools at the Keck Graduate Institute. He previously served as director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and as the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, where he also served as chair of the Department of Psychology and dean of Social Science. Stephen has been recognized by election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, three honorary doctorates, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research.

G. Wayne Miller is a staff writer at The Providence Journal, a documentary filmmaker, and the author of seven books of nonfiction, three novels, and three short story collections. He is also director and cofounder of the Story in the Public Square program at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy in Newport, RI. Find him at GWayneMiller.com or on Twitter @GWayneMiller.