When you hear the word intelligence, the concept of IQ testing may immediately come to mind. Intelligence is often defined as our intellectual potential; something we are born with, something that can be measured and a capacity that is difficult to change. In recent years, however, other views of intelligence have emerged. One such conception is the theory of multiple intelligences proposed by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner.
First introduced in his 1983 book Frames of Mind, Gardner's theory proposed seven different types of intelligence. An eighth intelligence was later added and recently Gardner has suggested the addition of yet another intelligence. According to Gardner, people have different strengths in different areas. For example, a student who excels at reading and writing would be described has have high linguistic-verbal intelligence, while a student who performs well at math would be considered high on in what Gardner calls logical-mathematical intelligence.
Since it was first introduced, the theory of multiple intelligences has become very popular, especially among educators. However, the theory has also been heavily criticized by both psychologists and educators who often suggest that these "intelligences" simply represent talents, personality traits and abilities.
Which type of intelligence best describes you? Explore each of the eight intelligences and learn more about the characterists of each in this article on Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
- Prev
- Next
Comments
What do you think about Spiritual intelligence? Is it importan for us?
Gardner has considered spiritual intelligence, but chose not to include it in his theory because of the difficulty in codifying the content of spiritual intelligence.
Instead, Gardner has suggested the addition of what he calls ?existential intelligence.? However, he has (so far) chosen to exclude this from his multiple intelligences. You might want to check out his book Intelligence Reframed in which he outlines his thinking on the addition of more intelligences.
Very good post.
Greets from Italy
http://www.francescogreco.splinder.com
On average, people who even TALK about ?spiritual intelligence? (or similar concepts of woo-woo), have no intelligence at all. At least none of the forms that deal with an actual, EXISTING subject?