Intelligence:
the mental quality consisting of the ability to learn
from experience, solve problems, and use
knowledge to adapt to new situations
So how do we measure our ability to learn from experience, solve problems and use knowledge to adapt to new situations? Is intelligence one aptitude or many? One thing intelligence experts agree on, is that intelligence is a concept, not a "thing." Intelligence is also almost always culturally influenced. General intelligence is sometimes referred to as a 'g' score so if g is referred to in this blog, think of general intelligence.
Different people are good at different things so sometimes it is hard to measure overall intelligence. Most intelligence tests don't account for this. Intelligence tests are usually testing convergent thinking, where there is one best or right answer for each question. But what if instead we were measuring intelligence in terms of creativity? For example, write down as many uses for a brick that you can think of in the next one minute...ready? GO! There is no right or wrong answer for that question. But there would be ways to analyze it and to see if you're answers were logical, creative, unique, etc.
There are many different people who have studied intelligence and they all have their own theories; here are a few of them.
Charles Spearman (1863-1945)
Spearmen believed a basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas. This seems to be true in some cases because things such as verbal and spatial abilities do have a tendency to correlate. Spearman came up with the g score, thinking that these different specific activities all attribute to your overall general intelligence.
Thurstone (1887-1955)
Thurstone broke down intelligence into seven factors
1. word fluency
2. verbal comprehension
3. spacial ability
4. perceptual speed
5. numerical ability
6. inductive reasoning
7. memory
The strength in this theory is that seven different intelligence scores tell you much more about a person's intelligence than just one g score does.
Howard Gardner (1943-)
Gardner looked at the many different types of intelligence. It doesn't seem fair that someone can be brilliant at one thing and still fail a standardized test just because they "lack intelligence" in those specific areas. This is common with people who have savant syndrome, a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill. Gardner argues that we don't have just one intelligence, we have several. For example, I did exceptionally well on my creative writing section of the SAT however I did poorly on the math section. So even though my verbal/linguistic abilities might be high my logical/mathematical might be low.
The problem with standardized tests like the SAT is that they only test verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical. So what about the people who are musical? Or good at understanding themselves and other people? There are so many intelligences that standardized tests don't test us on. But something to consider is, are all abilities actually intelligences? Or are they just talents separate from intelligence?
Robert Sternberg (1949-)
Sternberg created the theory of three intelligences:
1. Analytical intelligence
2. Creative intelligence
3. Practical intelligence
The nice thing about these three things, is that they can be reliably and accurately measured. The problem with this theory is that it could be more similar to Spearman's theory where they all actually have an underlying g factor. The problem we see in schools if we go by Sternberg's theory, is that in school the only intelligence that is truly tested and honed is analytical intelligence.
Everyone has taken a standardized test at some point whether it is the SAT, ACT, or an IQ test. But did you know there is no agreed upon test that measure Creativity?
Sternberg and his colleagues did however identify five components of creativity:
1. Expertise
2. Imaginative thinking skills
3. A venturesome personality
4. Intrinsic Motivation
5. A creative environment
If you think you're lacking creative skills or just want a creative boost, here are some things you can do:
1. Develop your expertise: what do you like learning about the most? What do you care about and enjoy the most? Follow your passion!
2. Allow time for incubation: think hard about something, then leave it be for awhile before coming back to it
3. Set aside time for the mind to roam freely: jog, go for a walk, exercise, meditate, do yoga; do something that takes your mind away from attention absorbing things such as TV, your phone, or social media
4. Experience other cultures and ways of thinking: live abroad, travel, try new things, new foods, gain multicultural experiences and work on facilitating your flexible thinking skills
Another aspect of intelligence that isn't tested on standardized tests, is emotional intelligence. There was a test however that was created by John Mayer, Peter Salovey and David Caruso that measures emotional intelligence by these four components:
1. Perceiving emotions
2. Understanding emotions
3. Managing emotions
4. Using emotions
Do you feel good about the types of intelligence they are measuring in our school systems today?
There are many different people who have studied intelligence and they all have their own theories; here are a few of them.
Charles Spearman (1863-1945)
Spearmen believed a basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas. This seems to be true in some cases because things such as verbal and spatial abilities do have a tendency to correlate. Spearman came up with the g score, thinking that these different specific activities all attribute to your overall general intelligence.
Thurstone (1887-1955)
Thurstone broke down intelligence into seven factors
1. word fluency
2. verbal comprehension
3. spacial ability
4. perceptual speed
5. numerical ability
6. inductive reasoning
7. memory
The strength in this theory is that seven different intelligence scores tell you much more about a person's intelligence than just one g score does.
Howard Gardner (1943-)
Gardner looked at the many different types of intelligence. It doesn't seem fair that someone can be brilliant at one thing and still fail a standardized test just because they "lack intelligence" in those specific areas. This is common with people who have savant syndrome, a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill. Gardner argues that we don't have just one intelligence, we have several. For example, I did exceptionally well on my creative writing section of the SAT however I did poorly on the math section. So even though my verbal/linguistic abilities might be high my logical/mathematical might be low.
The problem with standardized tests like the SAT is that they only test verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical. So what about the people who are musical? Or good at understanding themselves and other people? There are so many intelligences that standardized tests don't test us on. But something to consider is, are all abilities actually intelligences? Or are they just talents separate from intelligence?
Robert Sternberg (1949-)
Sternberg created the theory of three intelligences:
1. Analytical intelligence
2. Creative intelligence
3. Practical intelligence
The nice thing about these three things, is that they can be reliably and accurately measured. The problem with this theory is that it could be more similar to Spearman's theory where they all actually have an underlying g factor. The problem we see in schools if we go by Sternberg's theory, is that in school the only intelligence that is truly tested and honed is analytical intelligence.
___________________________________
Everyone has taken a standardized test at some point whether it is the SAT, ACT, or an IQ test. But did you know there is no agreed upon test that measure Creativity?
Sternberg and his colleagues did however identify five components of creativity:
1. Expertise
2. Imaginative thinking skills
3. A venturesome personality
4. Intrinsic Motivation
5. A creative environment
If you think you're lacking creative skills or just want a creative boost, here are some things you can do:
1. Develop your expertise: what do you like learning about the most? What do you care about and enjoy the most? Follow your passion!
2. Allow time for incubation: think hard about something, then leave it be for awhile before coming back to it
3. Set aside time for the mind to roam freely: jog, go for a walk, exercise, meditate, do yoga; do something that takes your mind away from attention absorbing things such as TV, your phone, or social media
4. Experience other cultures and ways of thinking: live abroad, travel, try new things, new foods, gain multicultural experiences and work on facilitating your flexible thinking skills
Another aspect of intelligence that isn't tested on standardized tests, is emotional intelligence. There was a test however that was created by John Mayer, Peter Salovey and David Caruso that measures emotional intelligence by these four components:
1. Perceiving emotions
2. Understanding emotions
3. Managing emotions
4. Using emotions
Do you feel good about the types of intelligence they are measuring in our school systems today?
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