Contents
The book «Introduction to Psychology». Authors — R.L. Atkinson, R.S. Atkinson, E.E. Smith, D.J. Boehm, S. Nolen-Hoeksema. Under the general editorship of V.P. Zinchenko. 15th international edition, St. Petersburg, Prime Eurosign, 2007.
Article from chapter 12. Individual differences
Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1983) developed his theory of multiple intelligences as a radical alternative to what he calls the «classical» view of intelligence as the capacity for logical reasoning.
Gardner was struck by the diversity of adult roles in different cultures—roles based on a wide variety of abilities and skills equally necessary for survival in their respective cultures. Based on his observations, he came to the conclusion that instead of a single basic intellectual ability, or «g factor», there are many different intellectual abilities that occur in various combinations. Gardner defines intelligence as «the ability to solve problems or create products, due to specific cultural characteristics or social environment» (1993, p. 15). It is the multiple nature of intelligence that allows people to take on such diverse roles as doctor, farmer, shaman, and dancer (Gardner, 1993a).
Gardner notes that the intellect is not a «thing», not a device located in the head, but «the potentiality, the presence of which allows the individual to use forms of thinking that are adequate to specific types of context» (Kornhaber & Gardner, 1991, p. 155). He believes that there are at least 6 different types of intelligence that do not depend on each other and act in the brain as independent systems (or modules), each according to its own rules. These include:
a) linguistic;
b) logical and mathematical;
c) spatial;
d) musical;
e) bodily-kinesthetic and
f) personality modules.
The first three modules are familiar components of intelligence, and they are measured by standard intelligence tests. The last three, according to Gardner, deserve a similar status, but Western society has emphasized the first three types and virtually excluded the rest. These types of intelligence are described in more detail in the table:
Seven intellectual abilities according to Gardner
(Adapted from: Gardner, Kornhaber & Wake, 1996)
- Verbal intelligence is the ability to generate speech, including the mechanisms responsible for the phonetic (speech sounds), syntactic (grammar), semantic (meaning) and pragmatic components of speech (the use of speech in various situations).
- Musical intelligence is the ability to generate, transmit and understand the meanings associated with sounds, including the mechanisms responsible for the perception of pitch, rhythm and timbre (qualitative characteristics) of sound.
- Logico-mathematical intelligence — the ability to use and evaluate the relationship between actions or objects when they are not actually present, i.e. to abstract thinking.
- Spatial intelligence is the ability to perceive visual and spatial information, modify it and recreate visual images without recourse to the original stimuli. Includes the ability to construct images in three dimensions, as well as mentally move and rotate these images.
- Body-kinesthetic intelligence — the ability to use all parts of the body when solving problems or creating products; includes control of gu.e.mi and fine motor movements and the ability to manipulate external objects.
- Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to recognize one’s own feelings, intentions, and motives.
- Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to recognize and discriminate between the feelings, attitudes, and intentions of other people.
In particular, Gardner argues that musical intelligence, including the ability to perceive pitch and rhythm, has been more important than logico-mathematical for much of human history. Body-kinesthetic intelligence includes control of one’s body and the ability to skillfully manipulate objects: dancers, gymnasts, artisans, and neurosurgeons are examples. Personal intelligence consists of two parts. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s feelings and emotions, distinguish between them, and use this information to guide one’s actions. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to notice and understand the needs and intentions of others and monitor their mood in order to predict their future behavior.
Gardner analyzes each type of intelligence from several positions: the cognitive operations involved in it; the appearance of child prodigies and other exceptional personalities; data on cases of brain damage; its manifestations in various cultures and the possible course of evolutionary development. For example, with certain brain damage, one type of intelligence may be impaired, while others remain unaffected. Gardner notes that the abilities of adults of different cultures are different combinations of certain types of intelligence.
Although all normal individuals are capable of exhibiting all varieties of intelligence to some degree, each individual has a unique combination of more and less developed intellectual abilities (Walters & Gardner, 1985), which explains the individual differences between people.
As we have noted, conventional IQ tests are good predictors of college grades, but they are less valid in predicting future job success or career advancement. Measures of other abilities, such as personal intelligence, may help explain why some excellent college performers become miserable failures later in life, while less successful students become worship leaders (Kornhaber, Krechevsky & Gardner, 1990). Therefore, Gardner and his colleagues call for an «intellectual-objective» assessment of students’ abilities. This will allow children to demonstrate their abilities in ways other than paper tests, such as matching items together to demonstrate spatial imagination skills.
Other theories of intelligence
- Anderson’s Theory of Intelligence and Cognitive Development See →
- Sternberg’s triarchic theory See →
- Bioecological theory of Cesi See →
Theories of intelligence: results
Despite these differences, all theories of intelligence have a number of common features. All of them try to take into account the biological basis of intelligence, whether it be a basic processing mechanism or a set of multiple intellectual abilities, modules or cognitive potentials. See →