August 15, 2024

Why Mind Mapping Works – The Proof!

by Chris Griffiths posted in Tips & Facts.

The success of Mind Maps all boils down to their ability to mimic the interactive way in which the brain connects information and ideas. They extract the thoughts from your head into something visible and structured, allowing you to further cultivate and build on them with great ease and resourcefulness.

Here are four core, scientifically-backed, reasons why Mind Mapping works:

1) ‘Radiant thinking’ creates boundless possibilities

The concept of radiant thinking describes how the brain processes and learns information. At its simplest level, the brain is essentially an association machine which links together bits of information. Every fact that enters the brain, every thought, idea or memory you have sparks hundreds and even thousands of associations which ‘radiate’ out in a multitude of directions. During the process of thinking, your brain will integrate and synthesise any extra information to what it already knows to form new ideas and concepts. These new ideas are essentially ‘networks’ of neurons coming together in new and different ways through mental association.

By forcing the brain to go in a linear direction, normal methods of recording information such as lists or outlines get in the way of this process. Your brain obviously doesn’t think in neat lines and adding new items or sentences to a list in a linear sequence actually works to diminish your thinking. Without a trigger for new associations your thinking very quickly dries out and you stop generating new thoughts and ideas. Consequently, your potential to draw out and properly organise all of the information available to you is limited. This is a real danger when you’re brainstorming, studying, project planning or trying to figure out the best way way forward!

Mind Mapping is different. It works hand in hand with the concept of radiant thinking to stimulate more expansive and expressive thought. By emulating the brain’s natural ‘networking’ processes and patterns it literally becomes an external reflection of your internal functioning – an actual ‘map’ of your thoughts and ideas!

One of the primary advantages of Mind Maps comes through using one key word per branch. Key words act as seeds from which to develop your thinking and conceptualise important points. They trigger multiple radiating possibilities and stimulate your mind to delve deeper and deeper into a subject, bringing more meaning to it. This is usually tricky when the key word is trapped in a sentence. By trying to choose a word to most appropriately convey a subject, we’re forced to think more actively than if we’re just copying or gathering information. In fact, Dr. Michael Howe’s research on note-making and note-taking in 1970 revealed that key word notes (made personally or given to students) were miles more effective in terms of the understanding and recall they engendered than complete transcript notes or sentence summary notes.

What’s more, you can’t run out of ideas. The Mind Mapping process compels you to continue thinking and prevents your mind from slacking off. Your brain hates to see pictures incomplete and so it will keep going to fill in any white spaces between the branches of your map. As an added bonus, it’s easy to do – precisely because you’re always following the non-linear train of your natural thought.

The associative process of Mind Mapping is also great for getting information into your brain, as well as out of it. This is reflected in the results of a study conducted by Farrand, Hussain and Hennessy in 2002. Mind Mapping was found to improve average learning efficiency by up to 13 per cent and the researchers reported that it encouraged “a deeper level of processing” for better memory formation.

2) A ‘whole brain’ process

Mind Maps are made even more powerful by the use of left and right-brain thinking instruments. In the late 1960s, research undertaken by Dr. Roger Sperry on the brain confirmed that the Cerebral Cortex, the ‘thinking cap’ of the brain, is divided into two major hemispheres (a right and left) which perform a range of intellectual (thinking) tasks called cortical skills. This research became the basis for the theory of brain lateralisation which has drawn a massive amount of public attention in recent years, arguing that the left and right sides of the brain exhibit different thinking patterns. These are broadly divided as follows:

• The left brain – The left brain is associated with logical and analytical thinking, language, reading, writing and arithmetic. It deals with naming and categorising things and sees things in black and white. It’s also very linear and likes to list things in sequential order with first things coming first, second things second and so on.
• The right brain – The right brain deals with images, patterns, colours, rhythm, daydreaming and intuitive information. It looks at the whole picture (gestalt thinking) and tries to determine the spatial relationships of all the parts as they relate to the whole. It’s also associated with creative thinking and imagination.

As appealing as it is to take the viewpoint that the left and right brains operate as two separate entities, it’s not entirely accurate. Some hard scientists and psychologists would go as far as calling it ‘pseudoscientific’ nonsense. In reality, the left and right sides of the brain are intricately connected and doing certain activities can activate BOTH parts at once. Let’s look at an example. Through neurological scanning, Joseph Hellige, a psychologist at the University of California, discovered that language was represented on both sides of the brain, in matching areas of the cortex. Areas on the left of the brain handled core facets of speech such as grammar and word production, while aspects such as intonation and emphasis were galvanised by the right side. Hence the differences between the two halves are not so much about physical location and more to do with a subtle difference in processing styles.

Regardless of the existence of the two hemispheres, the brain is fundamentally designed to work as a ‘whole’. Society tends to force us into using predominantly left brain skills such as logic and sequence and discriminates against the more creative and holistic right brain skills. For instance, conventional methods of teaching are weighted towards reading, writing, arithmetic and, in most workplaces, the procedures, tasks and computer programs we typically use promote more linear analytical processes.

However, the ultimate goal for all of us is to adopt a ‘whole brain’ approach to our life and work so we can experience the productive synergy of both sides of the brain working together. By Integrating left and right brain activities, we force our billions of brain cells to work harder and ‘co-operate’ to maximise the use of the brain. Each cortical skill enhances the performance of other areas so the brain is not only balanced out – it’s working at its optimum!

When you Mind Map, you lock into your entire range of cortical skills – word, image, number, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness – increasing the resources you bring to bear on your particular task and uniting both logic and creativity. As Mind Mapping author and lecturer Ingemar Svantesson explains – by representing logical structures using an artistic spatial image, a Mind Map essentially connects imagination with structure and pictures with logic.

When you take notes using key words and a radiant hierarchical structure, you activate your logical left brain cortical skills. Add the use of bold colours, images and space into the mix and you also light up your creative and imaginative right brain. The result is better clarity, analysis and synthesis of thought, more free-flowing ideas and improved concentration and memory.

3) ‘A picture paints a thousand words’

As we’ve seen images and symbols form a vital part of Mind Maps as tools for activating the right side of the brain. Where their benefit is really felt is in the power they can add to your creativity and retention of information. Have you ever heard the phrase – ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’? Images can be far more suggestive than words and make use of a massive range of our cortical skills, especially imagination. This makes them highly potent in triggering a wide range of associations, resulting in more innovative thinking. Also, it’s been proven that our ability to remember images is far better than our memory for words – something known as the ‘picture superiority effect’.

The Mind Map, with its colourful visuals and imagery, is undoubtedly an excellent tool for creative thinking, learning and recall. Not only does it use images, it is an image in itself – remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can provide the cues to memorising the information within it. It’s almost like creating a visual aid right into your brain!

4) Lots of stimulating colour

Mind Maps are fantastically colourful and whilst many believe that this can make them look un- businesslike, actually the opposite is true. Here are some thought-provoking findings revealed by the Xerox “Colour Knowledge” report released in 2005:

• Colour increases readers’ attention spans and recall by 82%
• Adding colour to documents gains 80% readership
• Colour makes an impression that is 39% more memorable
• Colour increases comprehension by as much as 73%
• Colour increases motivation by up to 80%

Sourced from Xerox “Colour Knowledge” report (2005)

So, using colour isn’t just about making your maps look attractive. Colour can also add extra meaning to your maps. You can use it to ‘code’ content and organise different areas and subjects. All in all it’s a sure-fire way to stimulate creativity, enhance memory and make an impact on how you communicate with others.

With the power of radiant thinking, left / right brain co-operation, colour and images behind it, the Mind Map is the ultimate thinking tool. As discovered by Joyce Wycoff, all of these elements together result in active engagement of the full range of cognitive functions and processes, bringing better performance and productivity all-round.

Chris Griffiths

Chris Griffiths, is a bestselling author with decades of experience in the areas of creativity, metacognition and innovation. His books have been published in over 20 languages and his previous title ‘The Creative Thinking Handbook’ was selected by Forbes as one of the best books to “get your creative juices flowing” and named the #1 business book for inspiring innovation by CEO Today. He is an advocate of using technology to improve thinking, and his latest app, Ayoa.com, is used by millions worldwide.