For nearly a century, educators and psychologists have debated the nature of intelligence, and

more specifically whether intelligence is just a broad ability or can take more than one form.
Many classical definitions of the concept have tended to define intelligence as a single broad
ability.

According to a traditional definition, intelligence is a uniform cognitive capacity people are born
with. This capacity can be easily measured by short-answer tests.

But there are also problems with defining intelligence as one general ability. Many believe that
intelligence is not limited to one aspect or ability, it is very broad construct. For instance,
Howard Gardner believed that traditional psychometric views of intelligence are too limited. He
challenged traditional beliefs in the fields of education and cognitive science and focused on
multiple intelligences. The theory of multiple intelligences differentiates human intelligence into
specific 'modalities', rather than seeing intelligence as dominated by a single general ability.

In addition, Gardner claims that:

 All human beings possess all intelligences in varying amounts

 Each person has a different intellectual composition
 We can improve education by addressing the multiple intelligences of our students
 These intelligences are located in different areas of the brain and can either work
independently or together
 Multiple intelligences can be nurtured and strengthened, or ignored and weakened

According to Gardener, human potential can be tied to one’s preferences to learning. Gardner’s
focus on human potential lies in the fact that people have a unique blend of capabilities and skills
(intelligences). He asserts that people who have an affinity toward one of the intelligences do so
in concert with the other intelligences as “they develop skills and solve problems”. Gardner’s
this view, early work in psychology and later in human cognition and human potential led to the
development of the theory of multiple intelligences. This model can be used to understand
“overall personality, preferences and strengths”.

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence:

Gardner first outlined his theory in his 1983 book "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple
Intelligences.” Gardner proposed that there are eight intelligences, and has suggested the possible
addition of a ninth known as "existentialist intelligence." Gardner defined the first seven
intelligences in Frames of Mind in 1983. He added the last two in Intelligence Reframed in
1999. These intelligences (or competencies) relate to a person’s unique aptitude set of
capabilities and ways they might prefer to demonstrate intellectual abilities.

The 9 intelligence given by Gardner are as follows:

Musical intelligence has to do with a high sensitivity to music. People with this intelligence
often have perfect pitch. Visual spatial is another intelligence that deals specifically with the
ability to spatially judge things and visualize things in the eye. Verbal linguistic is another
intelligence which deals with words and languages. People with this ability can tell stories and
memorize dates and are good at reading and writing. Logical mathematical intelligence has to
do with understanding logic and the underlying principles therein. Bodily kinesthetic
intelligence has to do with the kinesthetic control of your motions. Interpersonal intelligence
has to do with the ability to interact with others. This person would be sensitive to the feelings
and motivations of others. Intrapersonal intelligence has to do with self-reflective capacities
and having a deep understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses to the point of being able
to predict one’s reactions or emotions. Naturalistic intelligence concerns itself with nurturing
and the ability to relate information from the surroundings. Existential intelligence is related to
sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence such as, What is the
meaning of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?

In order to capture the full range of abilities and talents that people possess, Gardner theorizes
that people do not have just an intellectual capacity, but have many kinds of
intelligence, including musical, interpersonal, spatial-visual, and linguistic intelligences. Each
person has a mix of all 9 abilities—more of one and less of another—that helps to constitute that
person’s individual cognitive profile.

Criticism:

Gardner’s theory has come under criticism from both psychologists and educators. These critics
argue that Gardner’s definition of intelligence is too broad and that his 9 different "intelligences"
simply represent talents, personality traits, and abilities. Gardner’s theory also suffers from a lack
of supporting empirical research. This criticism about the MI theory comes from the field of
cognitive psychology or from the psychometric, or testing, community. Waterhouse writes, "To
date there have been no published studies that offer evidence of the validity of the MI." In this
theory, ‘intelligences’ have not been defined precisely. ‘Abilities’, ‘skills’ and ‘aptitudes’ have
been in-accurately equated with ‘intelligence’ in this theory. In spite of this criticism, this theory
has become widely popular among other educators who view in their classroom a range of
intelligences that are not IQ based. They have begun to integrate this theory into the classroom
and used it to cultivate their teaching.

Of course, Gardner is not the only person to suggest that there is more than one intelligence.

Sternberg’s theory of triarchic intelligence:

Robert J. Sternberg, a well-known psychologist looked at intelligence in terms of three different

components rather a single ability. He believed that a person’s adaptation to the changing
environment and his contribution of knowledge in shaping the world around them had a
significant importance in determining their intelligence.

Sternberg proposed his theory in 1985 as an alternative to the idea of the general intelligence
factor. The general intelligence factor, also known as g, is what intelligence tests typically
measure. It refers only to “academic intelligence.”

Sternberg argued that practical intelligence—a person’s ability to react and adapt to the world
around them—as well as creativity are equally important when measuring an individual's overall
intelligence. He also argued that intelligence isn’t fixed, but rather comprises a set of abilities
that can be developed. Sternberg's assertions led to the creation of his theory.

Sternberg broke his theory down into the following three sub theories:

 Contextual sub theory: The contextual sub theory says that intelligence is intertwined
with the individual’s environment. Thus, intelligence is based on the way one functions
in their everyday circumstances, including one’s ability to a) adapt to one’s environment,
 b) select the best environment for oneself, or c) shape the environment to better fit one’s
needs and desires.
 Experiential sub theory: The experiential sub theory proposes that there is a continuum
of experience from novel to automation to which intelligence can be applied. It’s at the
extremes of this continuum that intelligence is best demonstrated. At the novel end of the
spectrum, an individual is confronted with an unfamiliar task or situation and must come
up with a way to deal with it. At the automation end of the spectrum, one has become
familiar with a given task or situation and can now handle it with minimal thought.
 Componential sub theory: The componential theory outlines the various mechanisms
that result in intelligence. According to Sternberg, this sub theory is comprised of three
kinds of mental processes or components:
o Meta-components enable us to monitor, control, and evaluate our mental
processing, so that we can make decisions, solve problems, and create plans.
o Performance components are what enable us to take action on the plans and
decisions arrived at by the meta-components.
o Knowledge-acquisition components enable us to learn new information that will
help us carry out our plans.

Kinds of Intelligence:

Each sub theory reflects a particular kind of intelligence or ability:

Practical intelligence: Sternberg called one’s ability to successfully interact with the everyday
world practical intelligence. Practical intelligence is related to the contextual sub-theory.
Practically intelligent people are especially adept at behaving in successful ways in their external
environment. According to him this intelligence includes common sense, street smartness and
solving day-to-day problems, ability to adapt to changing environment.

Creative intelligence: The experiential sub-theory is related to creative intelligence, which is

one’s ability to use existing knowledge to create new ways to handle new problems or cope in
new situations. According to him this intelligence includes novelty (ability to deal with the
problem for the first time) and Automation (ability to automatically perform the repeated tasks).
Analytical intelligence: The componential sub-theory is related to analytical intelligence, which
is essentially academic intelligence. Analytical intelligence is used to solve problems and is the
kind of intelligence that is measured by a standard IQ test. This includes academic achievements,
being book smart, problem solving skills.

Sternberg observed that all three kinds of intelligence are necessary for successful intelligence,
which refers to the ability to be successful in life based on one’s abilities, personal desires, and
environment. According to Sternberg’s own words, ”you need creative skills to come up with
ideas, you need analytical abilities to know whether they’re good ideas to evaluate the ideas, and
you need practical abilities to make your ideas work and to persuade other people that your ideas
are worth listening to,” to be successfully intelligent.

Criticism:

There have been a number of critiques and challenges to Sternberg’s triarchic theory of
intelligence over the years. For example, educational psychologist Linda Gottfredson says the
theory lacks a solid empirical basis, and observes that the data used to back up the theory is
meager. In addition, some scholars argue that practical intelligence is redundant with the concept
of job knowledge, a concept that is more robust and has been better researched. Finally,
Sternberg’s own definitions and explanations of his terms and concepts have at times been
imprecise.