Lateralized Brain Damage and Differential Psychological Effects: Parsons,et al.,Re-Examined

Abstract

Parsons, et al. stated that left-hemisphere damage was associated with a Block Design score significantly higher than the Vocabulary score while the converse was true when the right hemisphere was damaged. Parsons, et al.'s use of age-corrected scaled scores to compensate for chronological age differences among Ss seriously compromised findings since age-corrected scores, so used, cause the criteria of measurement to vary from S to S. Re-analysis of published data, with averaged standard scaled scores substituted, failed to confirm reported findings. A further analysis, based on 21 right-hemisphere-damaged and 15 left-hemisphere-damaged head-injured veterans selected on the basis of equivalent chronological ages, similarly failed to confirm reported differences.