Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The Theory of multiple intelligences was devised by the American psychologist Howard Gardner as a counterweight to the paradigm of a unique intelligence.

Gardner proposed that human life requires the development of various types of intelligence. Thus, Gardner does not conflict with the scientific definition of intelligence, as the "ability to solve problems or produce valuable goods."

• Recommended article: "Biography of Howard Gardner"

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner and his associates from the prestigious Harvard University they warned that academic intelligence (obtaining educational qualifications and merits; the academic record) is not a decisive factor to know the intelligence of a person.

A good example of this idea is observed in people who, despite obtaining excellent grades academic, present significant problems in relating to other people or in managing other facets of his life. Gardner and his collaborators could affirm that Stephen Hawking does not have a greater intelligence than Leo MessiRather, each of them has developed a different type of intelligence.

On the other hand, Howard Gardner points out that there are clear cases in which people have extremely developed cognitive abilities, and others very underdeveloped: is the case of savants. An example of savant was Kim peek, that although in general he had little ability to reason, he was able to memorize maps and entire books, in practically all their details.

These exceptional cases made Gardner think that intelligence does not exist, but that there are actually many independent intelligences.

Multiple intelligences: 8 types of intelligence

Howard Gardner's research has managed to identify and define even eight different types of intelligence. We are going to know in more detail each of the intelligences proposed by Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences below.

► Linguistic intelligence

The capacity of master the language and being able to communicate with others is transversal to all cultures. From a young age we learn to use the mother tongue to be able to communicate effectively.

The linguistic intelligence It not only refers to the ability for oral communication, but to other ways of communicating such as writing, gestures, etc.

Those who best master this ability to communicate have superior linguistic intelligence. Professions in which this type of intelligence stands out could be politicians, writers, poets, journalists, actors ...

How to improve linguistic intelligence?

If you want to know more about verbal intelligence and how to progress in this area, we invite you to read the following article:

• "Linguistic intelligence: what is it and how can it be improved?"

► Logical-mathematical intelligence

For decades, the logical-mathematical intelligence raw intelligence was considered. It was the main axis of the concept of intelligence, and it was used as a yardstick to detect how intelligent a person was.

As its name suggests, this type of intelligence is linked to the ability for logical reasoning and mathematical problem solving. The speed to solve this type of problem is the indicator that determines how much logical-mathematical intelligence you have.

The famous IQ test (IQ) are based on this type of intelligence and, to a lesser extent, on linguistic intelligence. The scientists, economists, academics, engineers and mathematicians They tend to excel in this kind of intelligence. Likewise, chess players also require logical ability to develop game strategies better than those of their opponent, and in turn anticipate their movements.

Is it possible to improve mathematical logical intelligence?

Of course yes. We explain everything you need to know about this type of intelligence and the keys to improve it here:

• Logical-mathematical intelligence: what is it and how can we improve it? "

► Spatial intelligence

Also known as visual-spatial intelligence, it is the ability that allows us observe the world and objects from different perspectives. In this intelligence, chess players and professionals in the visual arts (painters, designers, sculptors ...), as well as taxi drivers, who must have an exquisite mental map of the cities through which they transit.

People who excel in this type of intelligence usually have abilities that allow them to create mental images, draw and detect details, as well as a personal sense for aesthetics. In this intelligence we find painters, photographers, designers, publicists, architects, creatives ...

How can we increase our spatial intelligence?

It is a skill that can be improved. Here you have all the information:

• "Spatial intelligence: what is it and how can it be improved?"

► Musical intelligence

Music is a universal art. All cultures have some kind of music, more or less elaborate, which leads Gardner and his collaborators to understand that there is a musical intelligence latent in all people.

Some areas of the brain carry out functions related to the interpretation and composition of music. Like any other type of intelligence, it can be trained and perfected.

It goes without saying that the most advantaged in this kind of intelligence are those capable of playing instruments, read and compose musical pieces with ease.

► Body and kinesthetic intelligence

The body and motor skills that are required to handle tools or to express certain emotions represent an essential aspect in the development of all cultures in history.

The ability to use tools is considered kinesthetic body intelligence. On the other hand, there is a follow-up of more intuitive abilities such as the use of bodily intelligence to express feelings through the body.

They are especially brilliant in this type of intelligence dancers, actors, athletes, and even plastic surgeons and creators, since all of them have to use their physical abilities in a rational way.

► Intrapersonal intelligence

The Intrapersonal intelligence refers to that intelligence that empowers us to understand and control the internal environment of oneself with regard to the regulation of emotions and attention focus.

People who excel at intrapersonal intelligence are able to access their feelings and emotions and reflect on these elements. According to Gardner, this intelligence also allows you to deepen your introspection and understand the reasons why you are the way you are.

On the other hand, both knowing how to distance oneself from the situation to de-dramatize events with a negative emotional impact and knowing how to identify one's own Thought biases are very useful tools both to maintain a good level of well-being and to perform better in different aspects of the lifetime.

How to improve this type of intelligence?

There are several ways to get to know yourself better. We have summarized them in this article:

• "Intrapersonal intelligence: what is it and how can it be improved?

► Interpersonal intelligence

The Interpersonal intelligence It empowers us to be able to notice things about other people beyond what our senses manage to capture. It is an intelligence that allows us to interpret the words or gestures, or the objectives and goals of each speech. Beyond the Introversion-Extraversion continuum, interpersonal intelligence assesses the ability to empathize with other people.

It is a very valuable intelligence for people who work with large groups. His ability to detect and understand the circumstances and problems of others it is easier if you have (and develop) interpersonal intelligence. Teachers, psychologists, therapists, lawyers and pedagogues are profiles that usually score very high in this type of intelligence described in the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

More on interpersonal intelligence and how to improve it

We explain how to expand these empathy and communication skills here:

• "Interpersonal intelligence: definition and tips to improve it"

► Naturalistic intelligence

According to Gardner, naturalistic intelligence allows detecting, differentiating and categorizing aspects related to the environment, such as animal and plant species or phenomena related to the climate, geography or phenomena of the nature.

This kind of intelligence was later added to Gardner's original study on Multiple Intelligences, specifically in 1995. Gardner considered it necessary to include this category because it is one of the essential intelligences for human survival (or any other species) and that has resulted in evolution.

It should be noted that although for Gardner this type of intelligence was developed to facilitate the creative use of the resources that nature offers us, currently its use is not only limited to environments in which there are no human constructions, but the latter could also be "explored" by it. shape.

In detail

You can learn more about the eighth type of intelligence in this post:

• "Naturalistic intelligence: what is it?"

In context

Gardner states that all people own each of the eight kinds of intelligenceAlthough each one stands out more in some than in others, none of the eight being more important or valuable than the others. Generally, it is required to master a large part of them to face life, regardless of the profession that is exercised. After all, most jobs require the use of most types of intelligence.

The education taught in the classrooms strives to offer content and procedures focused on evaluating the first two types of intelligence: linguistic and logical-mathematical. However, this is totally insufficient in the project of educating students to their full potential. The need for a change in the educational paradigm was brought to debate thanks to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner.

On the other hand, Howard Gardner has pointed out that the important thing about his theory is not the 8 intelligences that he proposes, but the conceptualization of human cognition as parallel and relatively independent processes each other. For this reason, he has pointed out several times that possibly the multiple intelligences are not those that he proposed, but others that he has not taken into account or that he groups under the name of a single intelligence.

Report to Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences

If you want to delve into the Theory of Multiple Intelligences and the reasoning and evidence of its main author, Howard Gardner, we strongly recommend that you see this chapter of the program on neuroscience and psychology Networking.

Bibliographic references:

• Gardner, Howard (1998). "A Reply to Perry D. Klein's 'Multiplying the problems of intelligence by eight' ". Canadian Journal of Education 23 (1): 96–102. doi: 10.2307 / 1585968. JSTOR 1585790.
• Scarr, S. (1985). "An authors frame of mind [Review of Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences]". New Ideas in Psychology 3 (1): 95–100. doi: 10.1016 / 0732-118X (85) 90056-X.
• Triglia, Adrián; Regader, Bertrand; and García-Allen, Jonathan (2018). "What is intelligence? From IQ to multiple intelligences ". EMSE Publishing.