S-M-A-R-T-E-R
forms of Human Intelligences by Clifford Morris
S-M-A-R-T-E-R
forms of Human Intelligences by Clifford Morris
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I firmly believe that my success in life stems from a combination of best using the natural IQ-type of intelligences that my biological parents passed on to me (See the left end of the Intellectual Continuum of Figure 1) and by developing the Many Intelligences (See the right end of the Intellectual Continuum of Figure 1) that I have nurtured over the years. In other words, I do not believe that I am a slaves to my genes nor am I a prisoner of my background. Allow me to use my immediate below Interpretative Schemata to assist me to explain what I mean.
I liken the broad field of human smarts as to an Intellectual Continuum (See the horizontal line segment of Figure 1). Each end of this spectrum houses a major cerebral camp, with intelligence quotient (IQ), the 'old intelligence', near the left end and several specific or Many Intelligences, the 'new intelligence', near at the right end. Most recently, David Feldman and Martha Morelock (2011) wrote that that IQ (which is essentially a numerical expression of g) "is a broad index of general intellectual ability to deal with logic, reflection, reason, and abstract concepts" (p. 210). Each camp is polar opposite to the other as to what constitutes our overall intellectual makeup. Where do you picture yourself on this continuum? In which camp are you?
FIGURE 1: Interpretative Schemata Copyright © 1999, 2011 by Clifford Morris
The above interpretative schemata postulates a superior approach towards a more meaningful model of human intelligences, showing eight (8) flashing line segments continuously intersecting a horizontal (x-axis) intellectual continuum and a vertical (y-axis) affective continuum. The eight flashing diagonal line segments represent Howard Gardner's hypothesis that all of us contain many separate forms of intelligences. Societal success is depicted in the upper right-hand corner of the quadrant. It is here where I put forward my hypothesis that we are all learners "at promise", that many of us learn differently as we blend our various intelligences to a strong internal locus-of-control and high levels of self-efficacy.
At the IQ extreme reside the general ability campers, proponents of general intelligence; they believe that each person has one general level of cognitive ability. Contemporary intelligence theorists still maintain the belief that smarter folks are more intelligent than others because they possess the appropriate genes, that genes operate only deterministically. Most (IQ) type tests in use today centre on this general ability theory. These campers argue that our cognitive capabilities include stronger biological underpinnings, and are more genetically influenced. Today, more often than not, these psychological communities believe that human intelligence is a fixed, innate talent, unitary and general (commonly referred to by the single italicized lower-case letter g). Put another way, conservative psychologists and conventional psychometricians believe that intelligence testing, which came into vogue in the early twentieth century, in the Parisian state-funded public school system, could yield this single g, or IQ number. "To be sure, IQ tests have evolved considerably since the days of Binet's early experimentation, but using IQ scores to predict the cognitive performance of individuals is still chancy business" (Nickerson, 2011, p. 108).
At the other end of this continuum reside the Many Intelligences campers. These present-day intelligence researchers believe that human intelligence is composed of several separate abilities, that IQ is an imperfect measure of human intelligence. It is their consensus that human intelligence is more than g alone, that being smarter is not a singular or genetically fixed trait but an amalgamation of different mental abilities with each ability having its own strengths and weaknesses. It is their conviction that, within all of us, lie a set of several higher order cognitive faculties that are, more or less, autonomous to each other. They disagree strongly with the contents of my immediate above paragraph, disputing the more hereditary stance by arguing, instead, that it is also environmental circumstances which strongly influence gene expression. For some time, I have been intrigued with that latter viewpoint, including how the role of excellence via deliberate practice plays such a practical relevance within human performances. Still others prefer to argue that individuals tend to select optimum environments to suit their particular abilities. This belief complicates considerably the (age-old) nature-versus-nurture debate. Instead of attempting to tease apart these two types of influences, perchance heredity x (times) environmental components might better maximize individual potential!
The jury will be out for a long time among intelligence scholars as to whether humans have one overall level of intelligence or a set of several separate abilities ... or some form of bridging between both camps. In the interim, perhaps the answer to this fascinating topic lies hidden somewhere within the following series of links.
Database of (only a few) Multiple Intelligences Dissertations (Citations and Abstracts only)
Multiple Intelligences Research and Consulting Branton Shearer's Homepage
Profiling the Dominant Intelligences of Grade Eight (8) State-Funded Public School Pupils
The Personal Intelligences: Promoting Social and Emotional Learning by Launa Ellison
Thinking and Working Smarter not Harder A (2003) Discussion Paper by Clifford Morris
References
Feldman David Henry & Morelock, Martha, J. (2011). Prodigies and savants. In Robert Jeffrey Sternberg & Scott Barry Kaufman (Eds.), The cambridge handbook of intelligence (pp. 210-234). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nickerson, R. S. (2011). Developing intelligence through instruction. In Robert Jeffrey Sternberg & Scott Barry Kaufman (Eds.), The cambridge handbook of intelligence (pp. 107-129). New York: Cambridge University Press.
S-M-A-R-T-E-R forms of Human Intelligences by Clifford Morris
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Revised on Friday, 22 July, 2011