Intelligence 1
Running head: INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence
Kristi Bruce
Wayne State University
March 18, 2012
ENG 1020
In today’s society, the definition ofintelligence has been a very controversial matter. It is an active definition, meaning that it changes as the world changes. Intelligence has been altered and changed throughout time, often defined in the wrong sense. Unlike what we are made to believe in society, the definition of intelligence isn’t the straight A student or a high intelligent quotient (IQ). According to Aborn, educators are to embrace the individuality of each of their students, thus creating a lesson plan crucial to teaching each student, which is why correctly defining intelligence is so important. Teachers must know how to go about and approach different minds that they encounter and make a proper assessment to do so. So, what is intelligence? Intelligence is commonly misconstrued as the acquisition of knowledge but is actually the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills in multiple ways.
Knowledge vs. Intelligence
As stated before, intelligence is often confused with the definition of knowledge. The two terms have been miscomprehended because not many people know the term of knowledge let alone are able to differentiate meaning between the two. Knowledge is facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject (Oxford Dictionary, 2010). A knowledgeable person can reflect his and others’ learning. The things that a person learns such as information or skills are considered knowledge, whereas intelligence is the ability to apply and understand these learning into whatever they need them for. The popular saying “knowledge is power” is true in the sense that in order to have the power, you must have the knowledge of the subject but knowledge would be nothing if intelligence isn’t present. The knowledge acquired can only be of use if intelligence is there to apply the findings and facts.
Theories of Intelligence
Spearman’s G Factor
Charles Spearman had narrowed intelligence down into two categories: the g factor and s factor in the early 1900’s. G factor stands for general intelligence, which is the ability to reason and solve problems. The s factor stands for specific intelligence, which is task-specific abilities in certain areas such as music, business, or art (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Spearman’s look on intelligence was one that would be built on overtime, adding more factors as to what intelligence is.
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
In 1988, Robert Sternberg proposed his theory that consisted of three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative and practical intelligence. Analytical intelligence is the ability to break down problems into parts, or analysis, for problem solving (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). It can be measured by Analytical intelligence is measured by intelligence tests and academic achievement tests or smart books and puzzles.Sternberg gave the example of a student, “Alice”, who had excellent test scores and grades, and teachers viewed her as extremely smart. Alice was later seen having trouble in graduate school because she was not adept at creating ideas of her own.
Unlike analytical intelligence, creative intelligence is the ability to deal with new and different concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems. The use of creative intelligence can be used to deal with new situations using past experiences and current skills (about.com). Creative intelligence is also the ability to automatically process certain aspects of information which frees up cognitive resources with novelty (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Individuals who are able to excel in this area of intelligence may not be to perform as well on tests as others, but are able to be very successful. For example, Barbara did not have the best test scores, but was able to earn a place into Yale University because she was very intelligent with her knack for creativity. She turned out to be a very valuable asset and was able to create new ideas (webhome.com).
Another part of Sternberg’s intelligence theory was practical intelligence. Practical intelligence is best described as “street smarts” or the ability to use information to get along in life. People that are high in this particular intelligence don’t necessarily have a college degree, but know how to be tactful, how to manipulate situations to their advantage, and how to use inside information to increase their odds of success(Ciccarelli & White, 2012). For instance, my father was a high school drop-out, and to this day has no college degree. To this day, he is one of the smartest people that I know. He lived most of his life on his own with little guidance from his parents and learned to live each day at a time, learning off of his experiences. Today, he has multiple businesses and has earned a higher salary than some of the most educated workers. During his time of learning on his own, he learned how to manipulate and persuade others in ways that would benefit his business. He is very charismatic, which often helps when trying to book a client. He gets people to see his views and has been around long enough to know what people want to hear, and how to get people to listen to him. Although he wasn’t as educated as others, he managed to do just as well as they did. He was able to apply the skills that he learned during his childhood and applied it into his later life that ultimately led to his success.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory
Charles Gardner was another psychologist that proposed that intelligence has multiple aspects to it. He expanded the works of Spearman and Sternberg and at first made seven types of intelligence, but later was expanded to nine(Ciccarelli & White, 2012). The intelligences that Gardner proposed were based off of a person’s natural ability and aren’t strictly educationally based (Gardner, 2006). These types of people have had very little or no prior training in what they excel in.
Verbal/linguistic is the ability to use language that Gardner had proposed in his theory (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). People with Linguistic intelligence love and are talented with words. They enjoy reading, writing and learning languages. They have an ability to teach and explain things to others. They learn best by reading, taking notes and going to lectures and are more often to things that others would overlook such as grammar, use of fancy words, famous quotes and sayings, their book collection and their love for English class.
The musical intelligence that Gardner proposed is the ability to compose and/or perform music (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). These types of intelligent people may not be able to read musical notes but are able to perform and compose brilliantly. For instance, Ray Charles was unable to see the notes that he would play or compose, yet he is universally known for his music and work on the piano. His intelligence was most strongly in the musical type of intelligence, rather than others.
Logical/mathematical was another type of intelligence that was proposed. This type of intelligence is the ability to applylogic thinking skills and to solve mathematical problems (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Some people such as scientists, engineers and mathematicians specialize in this type of intelligence, where they might be lacking in other intelligences. Many are able to do mathematical calculations in their head more quickly than others.
Visual/ Spatial intelligence is the ability to understand how objects are oriented in space (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Pilots, astronauts, artists and navigators are placed in this category of intelligence. People such as Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe, all famous astronomers specialized in this part of intelligence.
Movement intelligence is the ability to control one’s body motions (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Many dancers and athletes, for example, are in this category. They have a natural instinct on how the body should react, and are able to use their naturally given skill to do so more than others.
Interpersonal intelligence is the sensitivity to others and understanding motivation of others (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). They make us see ourselves, and question why we feel the way we do and question who we are (drskinner.pbworks). For example many successful psychologists are able to use their natural skills to relate and interpret feelings of another and are able to give proper feedback that benefits the well-being of the other person. They are able to better detect another person’s mood much better than others based on the others’ body language or facial expression.
Intrapersonal is along the same lines of interpersonal, but intrapersonal is the understanding of one’s emotions and how they guide actions (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). They naturally make us see ourselves for who we truly are, and question why we feel the way we do along with questioningourselves for how we act. There are many career opportunities for those that intelligence fits, mostly with people-oriented careers.
The naturalist intelligence of Gardner’s intelligence theory has the ability to recognize patterns found it nature(Ciccarelli & White, 2012).They are able to spot what each part of their surroundings relates to the environment. Each object has a purpose in nature and can most likely learn better on animals, school field trips and exploring the outdoors.
The existentialist intelligence is the ability to see the “big picture” of the human world by asking questions about life, death, and the ultimate reality of human existence (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). People such as these are keen in philosophical thinking. This kind of intelligence is relatively new, and the people that have it often ask questions such as “why are we here on Earth?” or “what is our role in the world?”
Among all of the theories, Gardner’s is the most agreed with and has a special place in the education field. His theory has been used in many schools to make educating and teaching fair in all schools. It targets individual students and adapts to their special intelligence, rather than grouping all of the students into the same category of thinking. One student that is in a logical/mathematical intelligence may not learn as well as a movement thinker in gym class, vice versa in the class room (Aborn, 2006). There is no such thing as a hopeless student, but each child views the world in a different way, thus learning in a different way which is why properly defining intelligence is so important today. It also adds personal and collective value to the students in the classroom, broadening culture (Aborn, 2006). The students can feed off of each other’s strengths and can become better, more successful learners.
Counterargument
Though there is much support for each of the theories, there are also some criticisms of them. Spearman’s G Factor intelligence theory was not wrong, but it was oversimplified (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). Spearman failed to get the broader factors of intelligence and instead only had two types, when in fact there were nine according to Howard Gardner. Sternberg’s theory of intelligence, like Spearman’s, also has its flaws. Sternberg’s ways of intelligence is tested through IQ and SAT scores, that may not always be accurate because in Gardner’s theory, the test may not individually benefit a person that doesn’t learn the way that the SAT and IQ tests are set up. Sternberg’s way of measuring is reliable, but not a valid measure of success (Meunier, 2003). The tests don’t take into consideration as to where the person has grown up or been modified to how the person has been taught or benefits their way of thinking. Howard Gardner’s theory of intelligence is the most supported today because it can explain many ways of intelligence. According to Morgan, Gardner’s theory is more of a semantic rather than a new way of thinking on multiple constructs of intelligence(Meunier, 2003). Another problem with Gardner’s theory is that there is no way to properly measure or test it, which is seen by some critics as invalid.
Why My Definition is Correct
Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills in multiple ways. In all of the theories that I have described above, they all have a common ground: acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Whether a person is applying their skill on a ballroom dance floor or in a desk taking a test, solving a geometry problem, they are seen as intelligent. There are so many ways that a person can be intelligent, even by being able to look at a sentence and memorize it on first glance. The possibilities are endless. The intelligence theories are often being debated into something so scientifically, that it is blown out of proportion. The theorists seem to spend so much time describing ways that their theory is true, rather than looking at all of their theories as being similar and right in the same way. All of the theories contain the ability to reason and solve problems, which is something that everyone contains. My definition brings all of the theories together as a simple definition that can be easily understood by many and can be applied based on the theories into classroom settings to fit the individuality of the students to better their learning experience. The skills acquired don’t necessarily have to be from a classroom setting, as it is often seen as today. Intelligence is most certainly is not narrowed to the person that has the best grade or scored the best ACT or SAT scores. There is a large variety of types of intelligence that fits everyone. Some people may not do as well as someone that is associated in the musical category, but may be a better naturalist. It does not make that person less intelligent, but rather a different kind of intelligence. There are multiple ways in which intelligence can be applied, and there is a whole range of possibilities that it can be done.
Bibliography
Aborn, Matt. "An intelligent use for belief." Education 127.1 (2006): 83+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.
Cherry, Kendra. “Theories of Intelligence” About.com Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <
Ciccarelli., & White, (2012).Psychology. (3rd ed., p. 792). Upper Sadddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Gardner, Howard. (2006). Multiple intelligences: new horizons. New York: Basic books.
(2010). Intelligence (3rd ed. p. 2096). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from
Meunier. (2003). Practical intelligence.Informally published manuscript, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Retrieved from