Theories of Intelligence

Mr. Koch AP 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 Spearmans 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 theres 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 shouldnt 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

Commonly measured in intelligence tests

Linguistic Logical-mathematical Spatial Musical

Body-kinesthetic Intrapersonal Interpersonal Naturalistic

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, dont 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