1. Theories of Intelligence
Mr. Koch
AP Psychology
Forest Lake High School

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Spatial
Musical
Body-kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Naturalistic
Commonly measured in intelligence tests
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

10. 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