Modern Ideas on Intelligence
What is intelligence? Is it the score you get on an IQ test? Your preferred method of communication and comprehension? Your propensity for a certain kind of thinking? Multiple definitions of intelligence are currently being studied. I’ll present Sternberg’s triarchic intelligences model and Gardner’s multiple intelligence model, two highly-respected models.
Sternberg's Triarchic Intelligences
Robert Sternberg, a graduate of Stanford University in 1975, has spent his career studying and describing human intelligence. He has developed a three-fold – or triarchic – theory, which includes:
Sternberg's theory “contends that intelligent behavior arises from a balance between analytical, creative and practical abilities, and that these abilities function collectively to allow individuals to achieve success within particular sociocultural contexts (from intelltheory.com). |
Under Sternberg's model, everyone has a unique balance of intelligence, and can determine how their combination is composed. With that information, successful people learn to utilize the abilities they have.
Luckily for us, all three abilities can be developed with time and effort. People are adaptable, and their intelligences, too, can change. |
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory
In 1983, Howard Gardner made waves by proposing his now-famous theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner, a Harvard graduate and former professor, suggested "intelligent behavior does not arise from a single unitary quality of the mind, ... but rather that different kinds of intelligence are generated from separate metaphorical pools of mental energy." (from intelltheory.com)
What are the intelligences?Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences "expands our conception of 'smarts' far beyond IQ, into eight confirmed" intelligences, shown at right.
Which intelligences do you exhibit? |
What's missing in this picture?Gardner also proposed the existence of "existential" intelligence, which could be called "big-idea smart" (Heacox 40).
This ninth intelligence has not yet been experimentally shown to exist. |
Psychologists are currently researching Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to experimentally prove its accuracy. Because the model is relatively new - and some might argue, because the model is inaccurate - researchers have not yet shown Gardner's model to be completely accurate (Sternberg 438).
Even so, teachers can learn a lot about their practices and preferred methods by using Gardner's theory as a tool. Using the theory of multiple intelligences as a guide, teachers can design new, innovative lesson plans to introduce students to material from all sorts of perspectives. Incorporating variety in this way can help keep students engaged (Heacox).
Even so, teachers can learn a lot about their practices and preferred methods by using Gardner's theory as a tool. Using the theory of multiple intelligences as a guide, teachers can design new, innovative lesson plans to introduce students to material from all sorts of perspectives. Incorporating variety in this way can help keep students engaged (Heacox).
What about alternative methods?
As Sternberg's and Gardner's models of intelligence are currently the focus of much attention, other psychologists are proposing and exploring new models, too. One such researcher is Daniel Goleman. Watch Daniel describe his proposed emotional intelligence model below.
As we learn more about intelligence through psychological research, we are getting a much clearer picture of how to accurately model human intelligence.
Printed Works Cited |
Sternberg, R. J. "Successful Intelligence: Finding a Balance." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 3.11 (1999): 436-442. Print.
Heacox, Diane. Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom. Updated Anniversary ed. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc, 2012. Print. |