13.5: Intelligence — Putting Our Learning to Good Use

Section Learning Objectives

• Define intelligence.
• Contrast the two main types.
• Describe the development of intelligence tests over time.
• Propose whether intelligence is more complex than we first thought.
• Define emotional intelligence (EI).
• List and discuss EI’s four core skills and two primary competencies.
• Clarify what research says about EI and its benefit.

What is Intelligence?

Intelligence includes the ability to solve problems, acquire language and knowledge, think abstractly, adapt to one’s environment, and engage in the manipulation of one’s environment. It consists of two types – crystalized and fluid. Crystalized intelligence is our accumulated knowledge acquired across life. Fluid intelligence is used when we solve problems, remember information, and reason abstractly.

The Development of Intelligence Tests

In 1890, while at the University of Pennsylvania, James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944) coined the term mental tests or tests of motor skills and sensory functioning. They included rate of movement, just noticeable differences in judging weights, time to name colors, reaction time for sound, and dynamometer pressure. Though Cattell coined the term, Francis Galton (1822 – 1911 and mentor of Cattell) originated the idea and believed intelligence was linked to a person’s sensory capabilities such that individuals with greater intelligence would have more advanced sensory functioning. Were Galton and Cattell correct? In 1901 Cattell obtained enough data to be able to correlate test scores with academic performance. The results produced extremely low correlations leading Cattell to conclude that the tests were not adequate predictors of college performance or intellectual ability.

Unlike Galton and Cattell who focused on sensorimotor functioning, Alfred Binet (1857-1911) believed intelligence should be measured through cognitive processes such as learning, memory, attention, and comprehension. He had a chance to develop a test when the French Ministry of Education appointed Theodore Simon and himself to identify children who were having difficulties in school so that remedial work could be assigned to them. The ministry was reluctant to ask teachers to undertake the task as they feared bias would creep into the decision. A more objective approach was needed. Binet and Simon’s work yielded a test consisting of 30 problems assessing comprehension, reasoning, and judgment. It was revised three years later to include the concept of mental age or a child’s level of intellectual development compared to other children. Let’s say a six-year-old child is given the test and performances as well as seven-year-old children given the same test, then he would be assigned a mental age of seven.

After Binet’s death in 1911, the development of intelligence tests shifted to the United States. Henry Goddard translated Binet’s test and presented it to American psychologists in 1908. He called his translation the Binet-Simon Measuring Scale for Intelligence. In 1916 Lewis Terman developed the Stanford-Binet Test, named after the university he was affiliated with, and introduced the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ), or a measure of intelligence calculated by dividing the child’s mental age by his/her chronological age and multiplying by 100. If a child’s mental age and chronological age were the same, he/she would have an IQ of 100, considered to be “average” intelligence. If a child had a mental age of 7 and a chronological age of 5, his/her IQ score would be 140 and above average. Finally, a mental age of 8 and chronological age of 10 yields an IQ of 80 or below average.

Today, the Stanford-Binet test is still used though other scales have been created too. David Wechsler designed a test only for adults, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). Later, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) was created. The two Wechsler tests include a general IQ score as well as scores for different types of abilities to include perceptual reasoning, working memory, verbal comprehension, and processing speed.

Types of Intelligence

The discussion of the development of IQ tests leads us to one important question — is there more than one type of intelligence? To examine this question, the work of Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner will be examined briefly.

Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.

Sternberg proposed his triarchic theory of intelligence which says there are three different types (Sternberg, 1988). Componential (analytic) intelligence is the first. This type of intelligence is measured by traditional intelligence tests and aids you in solving problems by first identifying a problem, deciding on a strategy to solve it, learning and then executing the strategy, and finally evaluating the result of your strategy. Creative (experiential) intelligence is the type of intelligence used to compose music. People with this ability cope with new situations well and learn quickly. Practical (contextual) intelligence reflects your ability to adapt to your environment or to consider the different contexts you may find yourself in. This type of intelligence would help you figure out what to do if stranded in the forest.

Gardner’s multiple intelligences.

Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1999) proposed the existence of several intelligences, each which involve a different set of skills and which can function independently of one another. They include linguistic (verbal skills), logical-mathematical (math and reasoning skills), and spatial (relationships between objects) intelligences which are the only three of the eight assessed by standard IQ tests, as well as musical (shown through skills in tempo and rhythm), body-kinesthetic (having skill in dancing and athletics), intrapersonal (self-understanding), interpersonal (how well you interact with others), and naturalistic (seeing patterns in nature).

We may also develop some of these intelligences more than others. To assess these other intelligences, Gardner suggests assessing a child’s music ability, sampling writing, and asking teachers what strengths and weaknesses students have in terms of athletic ability and social skills.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence or EI is our ability to manage the emotions of others as well as ourselves and includes skills such as empathy, emotional awareness, managing emotions, and self-control. According to a 2014 Forbes article by Travis Bradberry, EI consists of four core skills falling under two primary competencies: personal and social.

First, personal competence focuses on us individually and not on our social interactions. Through personal competence, we are self-aware or can accurately perceive our emotions and remain aware of them as they occur. We also can engage in self-management or using this awareness of our emotions to stay flexible and direct our behavior to positive ends.

Second, social competence focuses on social awareness and how we manage our relationships with others. Through it, we can understand the behaviors, moods, and motives of others. This allows us to improve the quality of our relationships. In terms of social awareness, we pick up on the emotions of others to understand what is going on. Relationship management allows us to be aware of the emotions of others and ourselves so that we can manage interactions successfully.

EI is not the same as IQ or intelligence quotient as EI can be improved upon over time while IQ cannot. This is not to say that some people are not naturally more emotionally intelligent than others, but that all can develop higher levels of it with time.

How do we effectively use emotional intelligence? Mayer and Salovey (1997) offer four uses. First, flexible planning involves mood swings which cause us to break our mindset and consider other alternatives or possible outcomes. Second, EI fosters creative thinking during problem-solving tasks. Third, the authors write that “attention is directed to new problems when powerful emotions occur.” Attending to our feelings allows us to shift from one problem to a new, more immediate one (consider that this can be adaptive too). Finally, moods can be used to motivate persistence when a task is challenging. Anxiety about an impending test may motivate better preparation or concern about passing preliminary examinations or may motivate a graduate student to pay extra careful attention to details in the research articles he/she has been assigned.

Utilizing a sample of 330 college students, Brackett, Mayer, and Warner (2004) found that women scored higher than men on EI and that lower EI in males was associated with maladjustment and negative behaviors such as illegal drug and alcohol use, poor relationships with friends, and deviant behavior. Individuals scoring higher in the ability to manage emotions were found by Lopes, Salovey, and Staus (2003) to report positive relations with others, report fewer negative interactions with their close friends, and to perceive greater levels of parental support. They also found that global satisfaction with relationships was linked to effectively managing one’s emotions, the personality trait of extraversion (positive correlation), and was negatively associated with neuroticism. In terms of the academic performance of students in British secondary education, those high in EI were less likely to have unauthorized absences or be excluded from school and demonstrated greater levels of scholastic achievement (Petrides, Frederickson, & Furham, 2004) while EI is also shown to be related positively to academic success in college (Parker, Summerfeldt, Hogan, & Majeski, 2004).

Finally, Ciarrochi, Deane, and Anderson (2002) investigated the relationship of stress with the mental health variables of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. They found that stress was related to greater reported levels of the three mental health variables for those high in emotional perception and suicidal ideation was higher in those low in managing other’s emotions.