Guilford's Intelligence Theory

Intelligence is a complex construct that throughout history has been conceptualized in very different ways by various authors.

From a classical vision that treat intelligence as a unique and unitary capacity to others that consider it to be a set of capacities independent of each other and passing through others in which the existence of organized skill sets was stipulated hierarchically, a large number of theories and models have emerged that attempt to explain what intelligence is, how it is structured and how act.

One of these theories is Guilford intelligence theory.

• Related article: "Theories of human intelligence"

Intelligence as a construct

As just mentioned, there is a wide variety of perspectives on what the term means intelligence, and the investigations carried out have greatly varied the focus of their study and analysis.

However, in a general way we can consider that it is the capacity or set of mental capacities that allow our adaptation, allowing us to manage our cognitive resources in the most efficient way when facing different situations.

Thanks to intelligence we are able to correctly capture and analyze information coming from the environment or from ourselves, establishing strategies and ways of managing resources and solving problems, planning our behavior and carrying it out successfully.

• You may be interested: "Francis Galton's Theory of Intelligence"

Guilford's theory of intelligence

Joy Paul Guilford was an American psychologist whose contributions to the study of intelligence converge in a theory of intelligence that he supposes together with Raymond Cattell and Thurstone one of the models of the most relevant contributions regarding the conception of intelligence as a set of abilities.

Guilford's model is based on the consideration of intelligence as the process by which being human transforms the information of the medium into mental content, so that it has an operative vision of is. The author states three separate and independent dimensions based on perception, information transformation and response issuance.

Specifically speaks of input elements or contents, operations and output elements or products. His model is therefore three-dimensional, and is usually represented in the form of a cube in which the interactions between the three large dimensions are interrelated to form up to 120 different factors.

It is a taxonomic model that considers the different capacities as non-hierarchical, with the different aptitudes being independent. Intelligence is therefore a set of aptitudes separated from each other that allow our adaptation to the environment.

• You may be interested: "Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences"

Guilford's three dimensions

For Guilford's theory of intelligence, the three main dimensions of each of the aptitudes that configure intelligence are three: the contents or perceptions, the operations carried out with them and finally the products or result of developing the first.

1. The content

By content we understand all that set of information and data collected, whether from the external environment or from the subject itself. It is mainly about the data, without any type of work having been done on them. In short, we are talking about the basic element from which the body works to develop content from operations.

Within the contents, we can find different types of information.

• Figural: it is the visual information that we capture, that is, the images
• Symbolic: it is also visual information, but in this case they are elements used as signs of a language to represent a concept or idea and that do not make sense by themselves.
• Semantics: mental contents linked to the meaning of symbols.
• Behavioral or behavioral: all that data coming from the connection with the environment or with other individuals. Include gestures, wishes, intentions, or attitudes.

2. Processes or operations

Operations refer to the set of procedures that the agency carries out to transform incoming information into other outgoing information. In other words, it is about the processing of content information so that products are generated in the form of a mental or physical response.

Within these operations we find the following processes:

• Cognition: awareness or understanding of information. It is based on the ability to extract the meaning of the information captured.
• Memory: It is based on the retention of information in order to operate at some point with it.
• Convergent production: creation of possible alternatives based on the information obtained previously. It supposes the agglutination of previous information to select the appropriate answer.
• Divergent production: it is an act of creating alternatives other than the usual ones and contained in memory. It is based on generating a novel response from the data obtained without.
• Evaluation: making comparisons between the different contents that allows establishing relationships.

3. The products

Products can be understood as the result of the transformations carried out through the operations to the contents. Thus, it refers to the expression or response generated by them, be it behavioral or mental.

Within the products, Guilford's theory of intelligence considers the existence of various typologies.

• Units: simple and basic answers. An elementary word, idea or action.
• Lessons: conceptualizations or organizations of similar units in some sense.
• Relations: it is the idea of ​​a connection between the different information handled. For example, lightning is linked to thunder.
• Systems: organizations of various information that interact with each other.
• Transformations: any modification carried out with respect to the information captured.
• Implications: establishment of connections between information suggested by a specific element without said connection appearing specifically as information. Causality or covariation relationships are established between elements.

Divergent thinking and creativity

Regardless of whether Guilford's theory of intelligence is more or less valid, one of the main and most important contributions to the conception of intelligence is the incorporation of divergent thinking as a distinctive element that is part of the intelligence. Previously, the creation of alternatives was not considered to be an indication of intelligence, basing its study on the search for a single correct alternative.

From Guilford, however, the study of creativity began as part of intellectual capacity. The generation of new response alternatives equally efficient between them or even more efficient than the pre-established ones allow make modifications and make action more flexible in known situations, being able to generate new results. In fact, today the presence of creativity is a basic requirement to speak of subjects with intellectual giftedness.

Bibliographic references:

• Hernangómez, L. and Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and differential psychology. CEDE Preparation Manual PIR, 07. CEDE: Madrid.

• Guilford. J.P. (1977). The nature of human intelligence. Buenos Aires, Paidós.