Primitive or Modern Brain? The Role of Left-Brain and Right-Brain Decision Making in Students’ Performance in Terms of Cumulative Grade-Point Average

With the developments of knowledge, science, and technology, the “homo sapiens” evolved into more sophisticated information processing capabilities, going from simple gut-feelings to more complex calculations. This evolution enabled the emergence of the so-called “homo economicus” (i.e. the rational man). However, previous studies and business practices have shown that the decision-making process is a dance between right brain (intuitive thinking) and left brain (analytical thinking). In several organizational settings, scholars and managers have pointed out the necessity of understanding how decision-making impacts performance. This study provides insights about the role of right and left-brain hemispheres on decision-making and focuses on the comparison of the performance of participants being them whether rational or intuitive decision makers. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore at the university setting the decision-making tendencies of students as intuitive thinkers or systematic ones and compare these tendencies with the achieved CGPA. A questionnaire has been distributed to 158 students of a private university in order to measure their main decision-making style. Then, for comparing the style with the achieved CGPA, the internal information system of the university has been accessed by the authorized personnel after the students’ approval. The participants were all undergraduate students enrolled on second and third year of their studies. The students were selected from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, and from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences. The sample was selected from seven departments by using the technique of convenient sampling. Findings of this research suggest that students have a certain tendency to rely into one of their brain hemispheres more than the other, even though these hemispheres are interrelated. In addition, findings do not clearly state if their performance depends on the selected decision-making approach.