Theories of Intelligence

Mr. KochAP Psychology

Forest Lake High School

Is intelligence one general trait or many specific abilities?

• Debate largely began in early 20th Century– Charles Spearman• Noticed scores on almost all tests of

cognitive abilities positively correlated» People who do well on one, do well

on others– Correlations created by general cognitive

ability called g (for general intelligence)

Is intelligence one general trait or many specific abilities?

– L.L. Thurstone• Criticized Spearman’s mathematical

methods• Used “factor analysis” to analyze

correlations among intelligence tests to identify underlying abilities being measured by those tests• Did not reveal a single, dominant g

factor• Instead found multiple relatively

independent “primary mental abilities”– Numerical ability, reasoning, verbal

fluency, spatial visualization, perceptual ability, memory, verbal comprehension

Is intelligence one general trait or many specific abilities?

• Neither Spearman or Thurstone entirely denied the ideas of the other, but differed in what they thought mattered most

• Most psychologists today agree there’s a positive correlation between various tests of cognitive ability (g), but it is probably made up of multiple general ability factors

Information Processing Approach

• Theory that attempts to understand intelligence by examining the mental operations (i.e. attention, memory) involved in intelligent behavior– Suggests that processing speed and amount of attentional

resources contribute to IQ performance

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence• Robert Sternberg (Tufts University)– 3 types of intelligence:

• Analytic: academic problem-solving– Well defined problems, single right answer– Tested on traditional IQ tests– Important for school & other areas, but shouldn’t be

only measure – may not be highly applicable to everyday problems

• Creative: reacting adaptively to novel situations• Practical: “street smarts”

– Everyday tasks – often ill-defined, multiple solutions

– “creative” and “practical” intelligence can be harder to measure

– Sternberg and colleagues have developed tests, but validity and value are still controversial

Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory• Howard Gardner (Harvard)– All people possess a number of intellectual

potentials (intelligences), each of which involves a different set of skills

– Biology provides raw capacity, culture provides systems to use those capacities• Found evidence in studying savant syndrome

Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory• Howard Gardner (Harvard)– All people possess a number of intellectual

potentials (intelligences), each of which involves a different set of skills

– Biology provides raw capacity, culture provides systems to use those capacities• Found evidence in studying savant syndrome

Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory

• Linguistic• Logical-mathematical• Spatial• Musical

• Body-kinesthetic• Intrapersonal• Interpersonal• Naturalistic

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• Suggests they interact, but can function with some independence• Some can become more developed than others

• Critics suggest that many of these are better labeled as “skills” than “intelligences”• Also, don’t really have dependable measures

Emotional Intelligence

• Daniel Goleman, Peter Salovey, John D. Mayer, & others

• The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions – Critical to social intelligence– Appears to be unrelated to academic

aptitude