Multiple Intelligences Theory Essay

Introduction

There is no doubt that the human brain can be considered as a very complex mechanism that allows people to complete a wide range of tasks in everyday life. In spite of that, things and processes that are difficult to understand have always attracted a lot of attention of the most prominent researchers in different fields. Speaking about people specializing in psychology, it is necessary to say that many of them were interested in studying the phenomenon of intelligence.

Conducting their studies on the topic, researchers tried to understand the real nature of intelligence, further problems related to cognition, studying, and individual perception. In the twentieth century, famous researchers made their first attempts to understand the nature of intelligence and provide a final definition to this notion. Speaking about famous people who studied the discussed subject and made a significant contribution to further development of psychology, it is necessary to pay an increased attention to Gardner who proposed his theory of multiple intelligences in the 1980s.

Analyzing and comparing different theories describing the notion of intelligence and factors defining its work, one can understand that theory developed by Gardner represents the most realistic interpretation of intelligence.

Multiple Intelligences: The Theory by Gardner

In reference to the topic of intelligence, it can be said that this aspect is believed to have been widely studied not only in people of different ages but also in various animals. Apart from that, the studies conducted on the topic allowed researchers to apply the principles of work of the human brain in order to develop a system that we call artificial intelligence. Speaking about the theory that was developed by Howard Gardner, it is important to note that his way to see intelligence and differences between people in this sphere was not supported by a wide range of researchers in the field initially.

It was due to the fact that his vision seemed unusual to other people specializing in psychology. Nevertheless, it is necessary to say that the theory became extremely popular because of numerous opportunities to implement it into practice. As for the modern situation, the given theory is appreciated by those people related to education and by parents trying to reveal talents and strong suits of their children as soon as possible in order to help them to become more successful in the future.¹

Types of Intelligence

According to the most important ideas outlined in the theory developed by the discussed researcher, intelligence is not something that should be considered as a unified whole. The author still supports such opinion despite the assumptions expressed by many other people related to the field. Many authors whose works appeared earlier than that of Gardner believed that intelligence was a process that was defined by only one ability.²

Nevertheless, with the help of his work, Gardner proposed the notion of multiple intelligences that was in conflict with findings reported by previous researchers. Speaking about multiple intelligences and their importance, it is necessary to say that this notion helps to better understand a wide range of strong suits that different people possess. Having introduced this notion, Gardner singled out a range of so-called modalities that he believed to define the nature and talents of a particular person. Another important fact about the discussed theory is that it supports the assumptions that people can be divided into a few groups based on their strong suits.

Nevertheless, affiliation to certain group cannot be regarded as a characteristic helping to measure intelligence of a person and make a conclusion concerning her or his intelligence abilities. Instead, when people understand which types described in the theory developed by Gardner they belong to, it becomes easier for them to determine the particular ways to learn something new that can guarantee the best results for them.

Trying to find the best definition for the notion of intelligence, the author of the given theory singled out a few criteria that he supposed to be extremely important for overall understanding of the topic. Thus, his theory is aimed at describing the way that we perceive new information and defining the particular practices that can be used by different people in order to improve their performance and master new skills. As is clear from the way that this theory is used in the modern society, it is important to apply this theory to children because it can help them to define tasks that are the easiest for them and this information can help them to choose occupation in the future.

In general, theory of multiple intelligences developed by Gardner touches upon eight different types of intelligence that can be manifested in people even simultaneously. Speaking about the relationships between these types of intelligence in people, Gardner put forward a range of assumptions. According to his opinion, intelligence can be regarded as a combination of abilities, and the degrees of manifestation of these eight abilities are different in every person.

Nevertheless, there are no people who would possess all the abilities mentioned by Gardner because they are extremely diversified. In fact, it can be stated that high degree of development of some of them acts as a factor that mitigates the possibility of development of other ones that are somehow related to opposite spheres. For instance, the person who is very good when it comes to tasks related to intrapersonal intelligence (or communication) is likely to be successful when there is a need to keep track of reactions of other people.

At the same time, when there is a need to fulfil a task related to interpersonal intelligence that involves the ability to understand one’s own assumptions, reactions, and characteristics, such people may face difficulties because their intelligence seems to be more tooled for another type of tasks.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence that is mentioned by Gardner is related to physical perception and people’s ability to use their body in order to fulfil a wide range of tasks. To begin with, it can be stated that it is necessary to possess this type of intelligence if one would like to have a job that involves a lot of physical operations. For instance, the particular spheres where such type of intelligence can be really important include nursing, surgery, professional sport, cottage industry, and culinary art. In fact, it can be said that people who possess a developed bodily intelligence have strong links between physical body and mind and it helps them to be concentrated while fulfilling tasks that require them to have an increased physical endurance and proper coordination of movements.³

Furthermore, there is a type of intelligence that is responsible for the way that people perceive concepts and numerous connections between them – logical-mathematical intelligence. As for the spheres where people whose logical intelligence is developed enough can realize their full potential, they include further mathematics and logic as a science.⁴ Apart from that, this type of intelligence can sometimes be important in other fields that involve an active work with concepts such as theoretical physics.

Also, it is necessary to say that it often happens that people with extraordinary abilities related to the sphere (for instance, ones who are capable of performing calculation operations on large numbers without the help of any auxiliary tools) have significant difficulties in other spheres such as communication. Due to that, they are often seen as slow learners until their showy talents are revealed. In general, developed abilities in this sphere are sometimes manifested in people suffering from savant syndrome.

Linguistic intelligence distinguished by Gardner in his theory is strictly connected to person’s ability to express thoughts in verbal or written form choosing the most appropriate words. Besides, this type of intelligence involves the ability to memorize a lot of foreign words and, therefore, learn foreign languages without making significant efforts. Speaking about the range of spheres where specialists are required to have a well-developed linguistic intelligence, it is necessary to mention creation of literary works in forms of poetry and prose, journalism, giving public speeches, working as an interpreter or a translator, teaching foreign languages. People whose linguistic intelligence is developed enough are often considered to be creative because it is quite easy for them to work with ideas and express them with the help of words.

The next type of intelligence outlined in the theory by Gardner is connected with the ability to work with music; the author defines it as musical intelligence. As for people whose musical intelligence is developed enough, it can be said that they possess an ability to distinguish slight differences between sounds and memorize melodies. Due to this fact, such people can work in a range of spheres related to performing and composing songs, for instance, they can conduct an orchestra. Apart from that, people with developed musical intelligence who also have good communication skills can work as music teachers because combination of this two types of intelligence makes them very good at teaching.

Apart from that, Gardner singles out spatial intelligence that is closely related to understanding physical world. The given type of intelligence is responsible for people’s understanding of the links between objects and the way that these objects influence each other. There is no doubt that those people who have a well-developed spatial intelligence can be trusted to fulfil tasks that involve a lot of spatial movements. For instance, such people can be good at orienteering, driving a car, handling an airplane, dancing, conducting surgical operations, and navigating a ship.

Another feature of spatial intelligence is that people who possess this ability can easily predict the result of physical interaction between two objects; due to that, people with developed special intelligence driving vehicles can make the best possible decisions when dangerous situations on the road occur. As it can be seen from these examples, those who are capable of fulfilling the tasks requiring advanced spatial thinking remain very important for the human society.

What is more, there is a type of intelligence that is responsible for communication and ability to understand what other people feel; the author defines it as interpersonal intelligence. In reference to the given type, it can be stated that people whose interpersonal intelligence prevails over other types are very good at understanding the reasons why other people behave in a certain way.⁵ What is more, advanced interpersonal intelligence provides people with an opportunity to see the ways of how other people’s behavior or mood can be changed. Due to that, it can be a good choice for people possessing this ability to work in such spheres as counseling, education, politics, and business communication.

In contrast to the last type, there are people who are very good at self-cognition, it is easier for them to analyze their own motives and feelings. Gardner calls such ability an intrapersonal intelligence. It can be supposed that increased abilities related to introspection can be used in order to help other people as well; for instance, such people can practice psychoanalytic therapy.

There is one more type proposed by the author that is related to understanding nature and its laws – naturalistic intelligence. People possessing such type of intelligence are good at fulfilling a range of tasks related to nature; for instance, it is easy for them to distinguish between species of animals that may look almost identical, they love different activities such as gardening and outdoor recreation.⁶ As for the reaction of the academic community on this type that was added by Gardner later, many people regarded this addition as a false conclusion.

Previous Research

In order to better understand the given theory, it may be necessary to compare conclusions reported by Gardner with findings of other authors working on the topic. One of the most famous theories of intelligence was proposed by Spearman in the beginning of the twentieth century. The author was a specialist in many spheres including philosophy of psychology and statistics, and he wanted to understand intelligence and related issues in general.

As a result, he put forward an assumption that any mental activity existed due to so-called “g-factor” responsible for general intelligence of a person.⁷ There was a reason why he made such conclusion – during his experiments, he noticed that those participants who were good at fulfilling one particular task were likely to cope with other tasks as well. As it can be seen, the primary difference between these two theories is that Spearman supposed that all speculative powers were under control of the general factor that he distinguished.

Nevertheless, such theory could not explain the cases of people having extraordinary abilities in some spheres and being incapable of accomplishing other tasks. Unlike Spearman, Gardner states that most of the people have certain strengths and weaknesses when it comes to fulfilling different tasks. Spearman’s theory did not involve a great practical significance whereas Gardner’s theory is used in a wide range of teaching methods and tests allowing people to identify their strong suits.

Conclusion

In the end, just like many theories developed by psychologists, Gardner’s theory was criticized by many professionals but it did not make it less popular among psychological practitioners and teachers. This theory can be considered as one providing the most reliable explanation of the nature of human intelligence due to the fact that it generalizes knowledge on different skills that people possess and provides recommendations on learning styles that can be implemented into practice and have been proven to be effective.

If compared to other theories aimed at explaining intelligence and the ways to apply this information in educational practice, the statements on cognitive abilities and intelligence made by Gardner acted not only as an important theoretical addition to the knowledge on the topic but also as a motivation for those individuals lacking belief in themselves due to failures in particular activities. Therefore, a great number of ways to implement concepts proposed by Gardner, the effectiveness of such practices confirmed by modern researchers, and the fact that it encourages common people to discover their talents can be definitely considered as assumptions counting in favor of validity of the theory.

Works Cited

Ackerman, Phillip L. “Process Overlap and g Do Not Adequately Account for a General Factor of Intelligence.” Psychological Inquiry, vol. 27, no. 3, 2016, pp. 178-180.

Birsen, Ekinci. “The Relationships among Sternberg’s Triarchic Abilities, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and Academic Achievement.” Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, 2014, pp. 625-633.

Bjorklund, David F., and Kayla B. Causey. Children’s Thinking: Cognitive Development and Individual Differences. Sage Publications, 2017.

Mohamed, Noorazilah, and Siti R. Awang. “The Multiple Intelligence Classification of Management Graduates Using Two Step Cluster Analysis.” Malaysian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 1, 2015, pp. 48-51.

Roth, Kristi, et al. Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education & Recreation. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2016.

1. See Mohamed and Awang 48.
2. See Bjorklund and Causey 531.
3. See Birsen 626.
4. See Birsen 627.
5. See Roth et al. 303.
6. See Roth et al. 304.
7. See Ackerman 178.