Introduction to Intelligence

“It’s not how smart you are, it’s how you are smart”. Intelligence is the ability to learn about, learn from understanding, and interact with one’s environment. Human knowledge, mental quality that consists of the abilities to learn from experience, adapt to new situations, understand and handle abstract concepts, and use knowledge to manipulate one’s environment.
“It is the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge”.

Theories of Intelligence

1. Spearman’s Two–Factor Theory
2. Information–processing Theory
3. Neuropsychological Theory/ Multiple intelligence

1. Spearman’s Two–Factor Theory

Charles Spearman proposed that a person’s performance on a test of intellectual ability is determined by two factors.

• G-Factor, which represents the general factor of intelligence common to all intellectual tasks (general reasoning ability).
• S-Factor, which represents a factor specific to a particular task ( specific ability), such as mechanical, musical, arithmetical logical, and spatial.

2. Information-Processing Theory

Robert Sternberg argued that there is a number of ways to demonstrate intelligence by integrating the information processing approach and analysis of intelligent behavior in the natural environment. According to his Triarchic (“ruled by three”) Theory, there are three aspects of intelligence:

1. Componential intelligence: A mental mechanism that people use to plan and execute tasks; these components of intelligence serve three functions:
1. Meta components(perception, memory, and problem-solving).
2. Performance components(reasoning and decision making )
3. Knowledge acquisition components to gain new knowledge (such as acquiring vocabulary words)

• Experiential intelligence: the ability to deal effectively with novel situations and to automatically solve problems that have been encountered previously.
• Contextual intelligence: This is a form of intelligence that reflects the behaviors that were subject to natural selection in our evolutionary histories such as adaptation, selection, and shaping.

3. Neuropsychological Theory/ Multiple intelligence

Dr. Howard Gardner introduces this theory based on a neuropsychological analysis of human abilities. He accounted that each kind of human ability is considered as” skills or talents”; and is represented in the brain in which specific brain damage can impair some of them but leave others relatively intact.

Gardner’s 8 Multiple Intelligences

• Linguistic intelligence: “WORD SMART”
• Musical intelligence: “music smart”
• Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: “number/ reasoning smart”
• Spatial Intelligence: “picture smart”
• Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: “body smart”
• Interpersonal Intelligence: “smart people”
• Intrapersonal intelligence: “self smart”
• Naturalistic Intelligence: “nature smart”