Gardner And Howard Gardner's Theories On Intelligence

In “A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, Howard Gardner illustrates how there are a variety of intelligences. Gardner starts off with an example how IQ tests may predict achievement in school but may not predict achievement in life. After finding out certain parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions, such as “Broca’s Area” which is responsible for sentence production, Gardner proposes the existence of multiple intelligences. Multiple studies later led him to propose seven distinct intelligences; Musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Each intelligence has certain classifications. According to Gardner’s classifications, I realized my intelligences are bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, and intrapersonal.

Charles Spearman's model of intelligence and Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory are two of the most widely used theories of intelligence. In order to understand how similar the two theories are we must first understand their differences. These two men differed in opinion on how IQ and intelligence should be measured, and they differed in opinion on what made a person "smart". In order to examine these things they first had to understand the human brain and how it works. They had to examine the human study habits and rituals, along with the human test taking habits.

     A renowned professor of education and psychology at Harvard University, Howard Gardner has radically changed the way we look at intelligence. In 1983 Gardner published the first of two books that theorize that there are multiple intelligences. Gardner believes “that human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of abilities, talents, or mental skills, which we call “intelligence” (378). Gardner’s theory dismisses the idea that intelligence is a single attribute of the mind and suggests that there are different types of intelligences that account for different human

On the contrary, those people who scored low on one kinds of ability test, were more likely to score badly on others as well. Meanwhile, Spearman also concluded that intelligence is a cognitive ability which could be measured and expressed numerically.

Traditionally, people have defined someone who is intelligent as an individual who can solve problems, use logic to answer questions, and think critically. But psychologist Howard Gardner has a much broader definition of intelligence. Compare the traditional idea about intelligence with Gardner's. How have his ideas changed the way we assess the strengths and weaknesses of people?

Binet was involved in creating one of the more recent forms of intelligence test, referred to as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. A similar test is that formulated by Wechsler (Neisser et al. 1996). These led to the measure of IQ (“intelligence quotient”) being founded, where an individual’s “mental age is divided by their chronological age and multiplied by 100” (Gardner 2006, p. 3). The tests measure intelligence through verbal and non-verbal tasks, assessing scholastic aptitude, school achievement and specific abilities (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 78).

Each theory of intelligence has not only a different method of testing intelligence, but also a different definition of intelligence, which each creator ascribes to. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Terman, 1916), or IQ tests as they are commonly referred to as, are currently one of the most widely used tools for intelligence measurement, however, research suggests they are a poor predictor of future academic success for particular cultural groups (Gardner, 1993). In one of the largest neurocognitive-based intelligence studies performed to date, it was revealed through the observation of neuroimaging data that IQ scores alone were not likely to indicate a fundamental intellectual ability because intelligence is composed of multiple anatomically distinct components (Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin, & Owen, 2012). Considering this development, it would appear that IQ tests are only measuring one subsection of intelligence, located in the frontoparietal cortex (Gray, Chabris, & Braver, 2003; Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin, & Owen, 2012). In order to provide analogous statistics to base research upon, it is vital to create multifaceted, culturally sensitive measurements because cultures differ greatly in the emphasis they place on certain aspects of intelligence (Sternberg, Grigorenko, & Kidd, 2005).

Howard Gardner, the father of such a theory encour-ages educators to feel free to apply the theory and use it in the ESL and EFL environment.” 1 In his book “Frames of Mind” (New York, 1983, Basic Books) he proposed that intelligence falls into eight different areas.2 “My True Intelligence”3 is a quiz based on Gardner’s theory de-signed to find out where a student’s intelligence lies.

"Gardner's original Theory of Multiple Intelligences consists of three components, seven "intelligences," and eight supporting criteria of what comprises an "intelligence." The Three Components include: a definition of intelligence, a challenge to the notion of a general intelligence (g), and a challenge to the conviction that g can be reliably measured." (Helding,

In the earlier year of psychology and research there had been ways on how to calculate different subjects that would be used to portray the demographics of social groups. One of which is intelligence testing. Looking back in the history of intelligence testing, there had been many studies conducted on intelligence that indicated some strong theories on what determines intelligence. The most controversial involving race and ethnicity. Modern research has made much advancements to say that these researchers did not realize was that there was much flaw in their procedures. Not to mention that the obliviousness may have been a result of subjectivity. These claims can be invalidated by many studies with revealing the

Howard Earl Gardner is a developmental psychologist known for his theory of multiple intelligences. His parents, Ralph and Hilde, were German-Jewish immigrants who fled Germany before World War II. In 1983, Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Essentially, his theory states that intelligence is differentiated into multiple “modalities,” rather than being dominated by a single general ability. Overall, mainstream psychology has widely criticized the theory for its lack of empirical evidence and its dependence on subjective judgement.

Musical Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, to name just a few. These are examples of Howard Gardner’s understanding of the unconscious mind. Gardner believes that all humans exhibit a range of different intelligences, that can not necessarily be discovered by the use of standardized intelligence quotient testing. His theory of Multiple Intelligences is one that details the possibilities of those few whom we can safely call prodigies. Gardner believes that schools should adapt curriculums to support his theory.

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed by Dr. Howard Gardner in 1983. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences is a critique of the standard psychological view of intellect: there is a single intelligence, adequately measured by IQ or other short answer tests. Instead, on the basis of evidence from disparate sources, the theory claims that human beings have a number of relatively discrete intellectual capacities. IQ tests assess linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence, and sometimes spatial intelligence; they are a reasonably good predictor of who will do well in school. This is because humans have several other significant intellectual capacities (Harvard University).

When a person utters the word “intelligence,” people tend to think of a genius like Albert Einstein developing some obscure equation that the great majority of the population will never understand. The problem with the definition of intelligence is that people relate intelligence to words like “genius” which require intelligence but do not have the same definition as intelligence. Often, people try to use related words to define intelligence, but these words are unable to define intelligence since many are only different levels of intelligence. While many definitions try to encompass the meaning of intelligence and various definitions describe a small part of intelligence, no definition completely explains intelligence, because

I first want to say that my perspective and answers are influenced by my belief in Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Intelligence and ability are not one linear scale. They are both complex.