Spearman proposed general intelligence whereas other psychologists such as Gardner and Sternberg proposed multiple intelligence. Pretending that you are a psychologist, how would you define intelligence? Your answer should be 2 pages, double-spaced.
Spearman
proposed general intelligence whereas other psychologists such as
Gardner and Sternberg proposed multiple intelligence. Pretending that
you are a psychologist, how would you define intelligence?
Your answer should be 2 pages, double-spaced. Please respond to 2 others.
Student A’s opinion.
The
word “intelligence” is often associated with the word “smart.”
Intelligence and smart are wrongfully associated with each other. The
connotation that smart gives off to people is that smart can be applied
to learning inferences whereas intelligence is something that cannot be
learned but rather the person just innately has it, whatever “it” may
be. The general consensus of the definition of intelligence is defined
as “the ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and
use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving
problems” (Ciccarelli 277). Gardner and Sternberg both believed that
multiple intelligence is a concrete concept and that there are multiple
subcategories under the definition of intelligence. I think that the
more you can break up a definition into smaller pieces, much like
Gardner has done, the easier it is to analyze and try to understand what
intelligence really is.
If I were a psychologist, I would lean more
towards Sternberg’s theory of multiple intelligence. I would define
intelligence as one’s ability to learn and then apply it to the
situation and communicate with others in any situation the individual is
placed in. When I was in high school, my math teacher gave me a lot of
advice about what students are like and how teachers are. I wanted to be
a teacher and we always talked about the intelligence teachers and
students hold. The biggest thing I took away from all of our talks was
that someone can be incredibly smart and effortlessly understands
everything but cannot explain themselves to anyone. She warned me that
in college, I’ll run into math professors who are frighteningly smart,
but cannot clearly explain the lesson they are teaching because of the
lack of social intelligence they have. I realized that when I had a
calculus class and although the teacher clearly knew what he was
speaking about, he did not know how to communicate with any of his
students and then half of the class dropped out because they could not
learn from him. Intelligence is not just your level of comprehension,
but your level of awareness socially and analytically.
If I was to
analyze a person’s level of intelligence, I would look at the way they
are living their day to day life. Do they have solid relationships with
family and friends? Can they communicate openly with others? If I were
to go to them with a problem, would this person be able to take it apart
and help me understand what needs to be done to fix the problem? What
is their personal approach to conquering day to day tasks? I do not
think of intelligence as a number, like one’s GPA or IQ scores. I’m the
worst test taker, I can completely understand a concept but then I blank
out during the test. I know that I’m an intelligent human being because
I know that there are other ways of measuring one’s intelligence other
than a number.
Gardner’s musical type of intelligence specifically
stood out to me because in the chart, under sample occupation, it read
“Musicians, even those who do not read musical notes but can perform and
compose”(Ciccarelli 278). My mom is an ESL teacher, but before that,
she taught Special Ed. She had a student who was severely autistic but
could listen to a song and then play it back perfectly on the piano. She
never had taken a piano lesson and could not read piano notes, but
after hearing a song only once, she was able to find the right keys and
play it. In terms of intelligence, her musical intelligence I’m sure was
on the higher end of Gardner’s scale. I like the idea that figuring out
one’s intelligence can be figured out in so many ways, because it shows
that there is more to a person other than their analyzing or book
smarts. Different types of intelligence not only allow psychologists to
understand their subject but it gives credit to what the person is
capable of.
Student B’s opinion.
In this chapter, intelligence
is defined as the ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire
knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations
or solving problems. Some psychologists argue that people may be
intelligent in a specific area but to me, intelligence is when a person
can apply knowledge of every aspect into their daily life.
In my
opinion, for someone to be intelligent they would have to be able to
utilize all skills learned that Sternberg mentioned; Analytical,
Creative and Practical intelligence. If someone had a 4.0 GPA in college
but weren’t able to get by in everyday life without issues, are they
really that smart? There may be different levels of intelligence which
can be tested usually in an IQ test but I believe that if a person is
able to use all three then they are intelligent.
If people succeed in
certain things, I think they are considered gifted in that area not
necessarily intelligent. One may be able to play an instrument but can’t
read or they can be good writers but not be able to socialize in
different environments. Intelligence is using all the tools you’ve been
given and achieving the task at hand. Being able to comprehend
information, use good judgment in choices and have a good sense of their
surroundings.
I’m not saying that if a person who is street smart
but not books smart is stupid. I’m just saying that if a person can do
it all, I consider them intelligent. Some people are not good test
takers but know the material. Some can play music but are not able to
read music and some may be a genius knowing math but socially awkward.
Intelligence is based on how you use everything you’ve learned
throughout the years in your daily life. Everyone shines in their own
way and are good at certain things in life.