The Theories of Intelligence

Everyone has a personality as they have their perceptions. Through constant growth, it allows us, humans, to build the best version by learning and adapting through life. Each living being possesses the traits and skills that they have learned. This idea can be anything from learning their mother tongue to riding a bike and perhaps even playing a sport. All of these factors can be considered intelligence, which is a concept that is complex and contentious. Many psychologists have studied it and tried to find a definitive scale to measure it. However, the theory of intelligence can be tricky to define as the meaning varies from person to person. There are a lot of defining factors from different demographics for the standard of intelligence. Methods such as IQ tests are utilized to measure the concept of intelligence though they are proven to be as inaccurate. IQ tests are supposedly the marginality of cultural and seriocomic bias(Ciccarelli and White, 2021). According to Ciccarelli, “intelligence is the ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems” (2021). Many psychologists have come up with versions of intelligence tests that can measure the aptitude of an individual and typically come down to a numerical score. Reducing intelligence to a numeric score is not only a substandard measure but also problematic.

Over the years, the question of intelligence and human capability has intrigued many. Psychologist Charles Spearman saw intelligence as the foundation of most of our mental abilities, a general intelligence, which he defined as the G factor. This specific concept was based on the idea that no matter what you do ranging from solving a Rubik’s cube to painting a million-dollar painting to surviving on an abandoned island, all had core general intelligence. All G factors have a basis that allows psychologists to understand the different dimensions that underlie most of these skills, which means if an individual does well on a cognitive test, they would average the same on all the others. This theory led to many revolutionary studies in the field of intelligence and cognition (Ciccarelli and White, 2021). Hence, scores tend to vary together. This theory helps understand the core of intelligence, as we have some innate sense of skills that we build upon throughout our lifetime. Spearman’s theory can be used to understand how we can use our verbal intelligence as unique reasoning. The fundamentals of problem-solving come from the “general” intelligence that we possess. However, this theory brings up controversy as single intelligence inaccurate because human abilities are incredibly diverse. We are not like wild animals that need only their primal instincts to survive.

Next, an American psychologist, Howard Gardner used his expertise to understand intelligence and what makes people good at particular tasks. Gardner saw intelligence as multiple abilities that take different shapes. He based his theories on many mental skills. For instance, if one lobe in the brain is damaged, other lobes not involving the area still function. Taking an example of Savants syndrome, a disorder in which a person otherwise limited in mental capacity has an extraordinary specific ability, computation, and drawing. Gardener believed that everyone has multiple intelligence, which is divided into eight segments: musical, mathematical, linguistic, naturist, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, kinesthetic abilities.

• Musical-the capacity to write and/or perform music

  • For example, singers, or even those with a natural ability to sing, behave without looking at musical notes, etc.

• Mathematical/ Logical - the ability to think logically and answer problems in mathematics

  • For example, scientists, technicians, and mathematicians

• Linguistic/ Verbal - the ability to use words

  • For example, authors, speakers, or even just a person who can read, talk, and write fluently in several languages.

• Naturalist- the ability to understand tendencies of nature

  • For example, Landscapers, fishermen, scientists

• Interpersonal-the ability to comprehend and be alert to the actions and feelings of others

  • For example, psychiatrists, executives

• Intrapersonal-the capacity to consider one 's thoughts and how they direct their acts

  • For example, diverse people-oriented professions

• Spatial/ (a candidate intelligence)- The desire to see the big picture of the human universe by contemplating life and death issues and the ultimate truth of human nature.

  • For example, Philosophical thinkers like the Dalai Lama,

• Kinesthetics -Ability to regulate the movements of one's body

  • For example, musicians, athletes

They are autonomous in the circumstances where they do not rely on each other by splitting the intelligence into eight autonomous bits of intelligence. Thus, intelligence in one area does not predict your intelligence in another. Gardener’s theory was not just narrowed down to book smarts but included a wide array of different human abilities that Spearman did not include. Many argue that some of the segments of intelligence could be classified as talents or abilities. It is also important to discuss the usage of the term intelligence, as it would depend on whether there would be any consequences of calling them intelligence versus talent. When thinking about why people are better at certain tasks than others, Gardener’s theory only seems to make a difference if the term intelligence holds a certain weight. By labeling these eight categories as intelligence, it feels as though they are given more importance. Therefore, it is taken more seriously than it was before as a talent. This idea is what makes people uncertain of the meaning of intelligence and debate whether it is necessary to give it so much importance. Gardner’s theory is also quite difficult to test, as some of these categories are quite intangible such as spatial intelligence. Therefore, the reason why people are better at certain tasks, according to Gardener’s theory, is that they have a better understanding of one of the independent intelligence over the others, thus perform better and pick up each skill faster(Marenus, 2020).

Subsequently, Robert Sternberg theorized that there are three forms of intelligence dubbed the Triarchic theory of intelligence, namely including analytic, creative, and practical intelligence.

• Analytical: the capacity to break down problems for problem-solving into component pieces or study. It is assessed by intelligence assessments and academic performance tests, or 'book smarts'.

• Creative is the ability to work with fresh and innovative ideas as well as coming up with new approaches to address challenges is creative; it also relates to the ability to process some aspects of knowledge efficiently, which frees up cognitive energy to cope with creativity. Yet intelligence spans beyond tangible skills. There are a lot of unquantifiable factors such as creativity that sets us aside from others. Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are not unique but add value, which is classified as Divergent thinking.

• Practical: The simplest definition of realistic wisdom is "street smarts," or the ability to use knowledge to get along in life. People with a high degree of practical knowledge know how to be tactful, how to exploit circumstances to their benefit, and how to maximize their chances of success by using inside information.

Practical intelligence is a matter of much importance and study. Sternberg has observed that practical intelligence predicts success in life, but that academic (analytical) intelligence has a relatively poor relationship. However, surveys have found that college, high school, and primary school systems benefit in a multitude of ways due to the large number of participants being involved when critical knowledge is taken into account or used to support standardized assessments. All in all, Sternberg agrees with Gardener’s theory but boils them down to 3 independent sectors of intelligence. He restricted his definition of intelligence to things that he thought would lead to real-world success. He specifically picked things out that he thought would bring real would succeed. The benefit of his study is that we can reliably measure intelligence along these lines as it is easy to define, thus easy to test. However, this theory has the same fallback as Spearman’s theory as research has shown that if you score well on one of these three intelligences, people tend to score well on the others. Hence, making these intelligence three different sides to the same dice (Sternberg,2018). Sternberg’s theory helps us understand the importance of real work success over most of our normal intellectual abilities. He understands that to have a comfortable life, one must have a well-rounded tact to tackle all types of challenges that book smarts alone cannot provide. Therefore, they can find solutions to problems that would be considered in thinking. People who possess this intelligence are innovative thinkers who also hold 44% of the world’s wealth. The application, these forms of intelligence is not just the conventual theory that is thought in school but all the realms needed to spark theories and invent innovative things.

In conclusion, the definition of intelligence is this ability that when faced with obstacles or problems, being able to understand the environment, think rationally or logically, and use resources effectively and it is something that everyone holds no matter what the extent. The more aware a person is and the more resources one has access to allows them to develop their intelligence further. It is important to note that everyone has different experiences in their lifetime whether it be in school, relationships, or any formative situation, which have a lasting impact on the cognition of an individual. This intelligence allows you to learn from your experiences and inherently makes people more adaptive towards critical thinking as well as problem-solving. For example, if a person is in a healthy relationship they would be able to identify the social cues of their significant others, thus they can establish a pattern to look for in their friends or family to understand their emotions. These environmental factors are significant in understanding how capable each person is. However, there will always be exceptions such as people who are born with mental retardedness like down syndrome(Ciccarelli and White, 2021). The core of intelligence lies within ourselves. Our intelligence grows as we gain interest in things and with this interest, we learn, improve, and adjust to do better. No matter what it is, the more time and hard work a person dedicates to a specific task or skill, the more intelligence a man/woman will build. Yes, some people are naturally better at certain things, but the human mind is so malleable that anyone can learn to be good at any skill with the proper dedication. Intellect should not only be based on the number you score in a test but also the amount of effort and improvement one makes to learn.

References:

Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, N. J. (2021). Cognition: Thinking, Intelligence, and Language. In Psychology (Global Edition ed., Vol. 5, pp. 306-350). S.l.: Pearson education.

Marenus, M. (2020, June 09). Gardner's theory of multiple intelligencesy. Simply Psychology.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.html

Sternberg, R. J. (2018). Theories of intelligence. In S. I. Pfeiffer, E. Shaunessy-Dedrick, & M. Foley-Nicpon (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology®. APA handbook of giftedness and talent (p. 145–161).

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000038-010