Intelligence and Creativity | Introduction to Psychology – Lindh

Robert Sternberg developed another theory of intelligence, which he titled the triarchic theory of intelligence because it sees intelligence as comprised of ... Skiptomaincontent IntroductiontoPsychology–Lindh Module7:ThinkingandIntelligence Searchfor: IntelligenceandCreativity Whatyou’lllearntodo: describeintelligencetheoriesandintelligencetesting Intelligenceisacomplexcharacteristicofcognition.Manytheorieshavebeendevelopedtoexplainwhatintelligenceisandhowitworks.There’sSternberg’striarchictheoryofintelligencethatfocusesonanalytical,creative,andpracticalintelligence,butthereisalsoGardner’stheorywhichholdsthatintelligenceiscomprisedofmanyfactors.Stillothertheoriesfocusontheimportanceofemotionalintelligence.Whichofthetheoriesismostcorrect?Andhowcanintelligenceevenbemeasured?ThisCrashCoursevideogivesagoodoverviewofthesetopics: LearningObjectives Explainthetriarchictheoryofintelligence Explainthemultipleintelligencestheory Definecreativity,divergent,andconvergentthinking Afour-and-a-half-year-oldboysitsatthekitchentablewithhisfather,whoisreadinganewstoryaloudtohim.Heturnsthepagetocontinuereading,butbeforehecanbegin,theboysays,“Wait,Daddy!”Hepointstothewordsonthenewpageandreadsaloud,“Go,Pig!Go!”Thefatherstopsandlooksathisson.“Canyoureadthat?”heasks.“Yes,Daddy!”Andhepointstothewordsandreadsagain,“Go,Pig!Go!” Thisfatherwasnotactivelyteachinghissontoread,eventhoughthechildconstantlyaskedquestionsaboutletters,words,andsymbolsthattheysaweverywhere:inthecar,inthestore,onthetelevision.Thedadwonderedaboutwhatelsehissonmightunderstandanddecidedtotryanexperiment.Grabbingasheetofblankpaper,hewroteseveralsimplewordsinalist:mom,dad,dog,bird,bed,truck,car,tree.Heputthelistdowninfrontoftheboyandaskedhimtoreadthewords.“Mom,dad,dog,bird,bed,truck,car,tree,”heread,slowingdowntocarefullypronouncebirdandtruck.Then,“DidIdoit,Daddy?”“Yousuredid!Thatisverygood.”Thefathergavehislittleboyawarmhugandcontinuedreadingthestoryaboutthepig,allthewhilewonderingifhisson’sabilitieswereanindicationofexceptionalintelligenceorsimplyanormalpatternoflinguisticdevelopment.Likethefatherinthisexample,psychologistshavewonderedwhatconstitutesintelligenceandhowitcanbemeasured. ClassifyingIntelligence Whatexactlyisintelligence?Thewaythatresearchershavedefinedtheconceptofintelligencehasbeenmodifiedmanytimessincethebirthofpsychology.BritishpsychologistCharlesSpearmanbelievedintelligenceconsistedofonegeneralfactor,calledg,whichcouldbemeasuredandcomparedamongindividuals.Spearmanfocusedonthecommonalitiesamongvariousintellectualabilitiesandde-emphasizedwhatmadeeachunique.Longbeforemodernpsychologydeveloped,however,ancientphilosophers,suchasAristotle,heldasimilarview(Cianciolo&Sternberg,2004). Otherspsychologistsbelievethatinsteadofasinglefactor,intelligenceisacollectionofdistinctabilities.Inthe1940s,RaymondCattellproposedatheoryofintelligencethatdividedgeneralintelligenceintotwocomponents:crystallizedintelligenceandfluidintelligence(Cattell,1963).Crystallizedintelligenceischaracterizedasacquiredknowledgeandtheabilitytoretrieveit.Whenyoulearn,remember,andrecallinformation,youareusingcrystallizedintelligence.Youusecrystallizedintelligenceallthetimeinyourcourseworkbydemonstratingthatyouhavemasteredtheinformationcoveredinthecourse.Fluidintelligenceencompassestheabilitytoseecomplexrelationshipsandsolveproblems.Navigatingyourwayhomeafterbeingdetouredontoanunfamiliarroutebecauseofroadconstructionwoulddrawuponyourfluidintelligence.Fluidintelligencehelpsyoutacklecomplex,abstractchallengesinyourdailylife,whereascrystallizedintelligencehelpsyouovercomeconcrete,straightforwardproblems(Cattell,1963). Othertheoristsandpsychologistsbelievethatintelligenceshouldbedefinedinmorepracticalterms.Forexample,whattypesofbehaviorshelpyougetaheadinlife?Whichskillspromotesuccess?Thinkaboutthisforamoment.Beingabletoreciteall44presidentsoftheUnitedStatesinorderisanexcellentpartytrick,butwillknowingthismakeyouabetterperson? RobertSternbergdevelopedanothertheoryofintelligence,whichhetitledthetriarchictheoryofintelligencebecauseitseesintelligenceascomprisedofthreeparts(Sternberg,1988):practical,creative,andanalyticalintelligence(Figure1). Figure1.Sternberg’stheoryidentifiesthreetypesofintelligence:practical,creative,andanalytical. Practicalintelligence,asproposedbySternberg,issometimescomparedto“streetsmarts.”Beingpracticalmeansyoufindsolutionsthatworkinyoureverydaylifebyapplyingknowledgebasedonyourexperiences.ThistypeofintelligenceappearstobeseparatefromtraditionalunderstandingofIQ;individualswhoscorehighinpracticalintelligencemayormaynothavecomparablescoresincreativeandanalyticalintelligence(Sternberg,1988). Thisstoryaboutthe2007VirginiaTechshootingsillustratesbothhighandlowpracticalintelligences.Duringtheincident,onestudentleftherclasstogogetasodainanadjacentbuilding.Sheplannedtoreturntoclass,butwhenshereturnedtoherbuildingaftergettinghersoda,shesawthatthedoorsheusedtoleavewasnowchainedshutfromtheinside.Insteadofthinkingaboutwhytherewasachainaroundthedoorhandles,shewenttoherclass’swindowandcrawledbackintotheroom.Shethuspotentiallyexposedherselftothegunman.Thankfully,shewasnotshot.Ontheotherhand,apairofstudentswaswalkingoncampuswhentheyheardgunshotsnearby.Onefriendsaid,“Let’sgocheckitoutandseewhatisgoingon.”Theotherstudentsaid,“Noway,weneedtorunawayfromthegunshots.”Theydidjustthat.Asaresult,bothavoidedharm.Thestudentwhocrawledthroughthewindowdemonstratedsomecreativeintelligencebutdidnotusecommonsense.Shewouldhavelowpracticalintelligence.Thestudentwhoencouragedhisfriendtorunawayfromthesoundofgunshotswouldhavemuchhigherpracticalintelligence. Analyticalintelligenceiscloselyalignedwithacademicproblemsolvingandcomputations.Sternbergsaysthatanalyticalintelligenceisdemonstratedbyanabilitytoanalyze,evaluate,judge,compare,andcontrast.Whenreadingaclassicnovelforliteratureclass,forexample,itisusuallynecessarytocomparethemotivesofthemaincharactersofthebookoranalyzethehistoricalcontextofthestory.Inasciencecoursesuchasanatomy,youmuststudytheprocessesbywhichthebodyusesvariousmineralsindifferenthumansystems.Indevelopinganunderstandingofthistopic,youareusinganalyticalintelligence.Whensolvingachallengingmathproblem,youwouldapplyanalyticalintelligencetoanalyzedifferentaspectsoftheproblemandthensolveitsectionbysection. TestItOut Testyouranalyticalintelligencewiththeprisonerhatriddle: Creativeintelligenceismarkedbyinventingorimaginingasolutiontoaproblemorsituation.Creativityinthisrealmcanincludefindinganovelsolutiontoanunexpectedproblemorproducingabeautifulworkofartorawell-developedshortstory.Imagineforamomentthatyouarecampinginthewoodswithsomefriendsandrealizethatyou’veforgottenyourcampcoffeepot.Thepersoninyourgroupwhofiguresoutawaytosuccessfullybrewcoffeeforeveryonewouldbecreditedashavinghighercreativeintelligence. TryIt MultipleIntelligencesTheorywasdevelopedbyHowardGardner,aHarvardpsychologistandformerstudentofErikErikson.Gardner’stheory,whichhasbeenrefinedformorethan30years,isamorerecentdevelopmentamongtheoriesofintelligence.InGardner’stheory,eachpersonpossessesatleasteightintelligences.Amongtheseeightintelligences,apersontypicallyexcelsinsomeandfaltersinothers(Gardner,1983).Thefollowingtable describeseachtypeofintelligence. MultipleIntelligences IntelligenceType Characteristics RepresentativeCareer Linguisticintelligence Perceivesdifferentfunctionsoflanguage,differentsoundsandmeaningsofwords,mayeasilylearnmultiplelanguages Journalist,novelist,poet,teacher Logical-mathematicalintelligence Capableofseeingnumericalpatterns,strongabilitytousereasonandlogic Scientist,mathematician Musicalintelligence Understandsandappreciatesrhythm,pitch,andtone;mayplaymultipleinstrumentsorperformasavocalist Composer,performer Bodilykinestheticintelligence Highabilitytocontrolthemovementsofthebodyandusethebodytoperformvariousphysicaltasks Dancer,athlete,athleticcoach,yogainstructor Spatialintelligence Abilitytoperceivetherelationshipbetweenobjectsandhowtheymoveinspace Choreographer,sculptor,architect,aviator,sailor Interpersonalintelligence Abilitytounderstandandbesensitivetothevariousemotionalstatesofothers Counselor,socialworker,salesperson Intrapersonalintelligence Abilitytoaccesspersonalfeelingsandmotivations,andusethemtodirectbehaviorandreachpersonalgoals Keycomponentofpersonalsuccessovertime Naturalistintelligence Highcapacitytoappreciatethenaturalworldandinteractwiththespecieswithinit Biologist,ecologist,environmentalist Gardner’stheoryisrelativelynewandneedsadditionalresearchtobetterestablishempiricalsupport.Atthesametime,hisideaschallengethetraditionalideaofintelligencetoincludeawidervarietyofabilities,althoughithasbeensuggestedthatGardnersimplyrelabeledwhatothertheoristscalled“cognitivestyles”as“intelligences”(Morgan,1996).Furthermore,developingtraditionalmeasuresofGardner’sintelligencesisextremelydifficult(Furnham,2009;Gardner&Moran,2006;Klein,1997). linktolearning Ifyou’reinterestinginlearningmore,watchtheBBCDocumentaryBattleoftheBrains toseeexamplesofhowmultipleintelligencesaretested.Inthevideoamusicalprodigy,chessgrandmaster,quantumphysicist,fighterpilot,artist,dramatist,andIQchampionarealltakenthroughaseriesofteststodeterminewhowouldbeconsideredthemostintelligent. Horizon-BattleoftheBrainsfromTatianaonVimeo. Gardner’sinter-andintrapersonalintelligencesareoftencombinedintoasingletype:emotionalintelligence.Emotionalintelligenceencompassestheabilitytounderstandtheemotionsofyourselfandothers,showempathy,understandsocialrelationshipsandcues,andregulateyourownemotionsandrespondinculturallyappropriateways(Parker,Saklofske,&Stough,2009).Peoplewithhighemotionalintelligencetypicallyhavewell-developedsocialskills.Someresearchers,includingDanielGoleman,theauthorofEmotionalIntelligence:WhyItCanMatterMorethanIQ,arguethatemotionalintelligenceisabetterpredictorofsuccessthantraditionalintelligence(Goleman,1995).However,emotionalintelligencehasbeenwidelydebated,withresearcherspointingoutinconsistenciesinhowitisdefinedanddescribed,aswellasquestioningresultsofstudiesonasubjectthatisdifficultytomeasureandstudyemperically(Locke,2005;Mayer,Salovey,&Caruso,2004) Intelligencecanalsohavedifferentmeaningsandvaluesindifferentcultures.Ifyouliveonasmallisland,wheremostpeoplegettheirfoodbyfishingfromboats,itwouldbeimportanttoknowhowtofishandhowtorepairaboat.Ifyouwereanexceptionalangler,yourpeerswouldprobablyconsideryouintelligent.Ifyouwerealsoskilledatrepairingboats,yourintelligencemightbeknownacrossthewholeisland.Thinkaboutyourownfamily’sculture.WhatvaluesareimportantforLatinofamilies?Italianfamilies?InIrishfamilies,hospitalityandtellinganentertainingstoryaremarksoftheculture.Ifyouareaskilledstoryteller,othermembersofIrishculturearelikelytoconsideryouintelligent. Someculturesplaceahighvalueonworkingtogetherasacollective.Inthesecultures,theimportanceofthegroupsupersedestheimportanceofindividualachievement.Whenyouvisitsuchaculture,howwellyourelatetothevaluesofthatcultureexemplifiesyourculturalintelligence,sometimesreferredtoasculturalcompetence. TryIt ThinkItOver Whatinfluencedoyouthinkemotionalintelligenceplaysinyourpersonallife? Creativity Whatdothefollowinghaveincommon:thedrugpenicillin,theEiffelTower,thefilmLordoftheRings,theGeneralTheoryofRelativity,thehymnAmazingGrace,theiPhone,thenovelDonQuixote,thepaintingTheMonaLisa,arecipeforchocolatefudge,thesoftdrinkCoca-Cola,thevideogameWiiSports,theWestCoastoffenseinfootball,andthezipper?Youguessedright!Allofthenameditemswereproductsofthecreativemind.Notoneofthemexisteduntilsomebodycameupwiththeidea.Creativityisnotsomethingthatyoujustpicklikeapplesfromatree.Becausecreativeideasaresospecial,creatorswhocomeupwiththebestideasareoftenhighlyrewardedwithfame,fortune,orboth.NobelPrizes,Oscars,Pulitzers,andotherhonorsbringfame,andbigsalesandboxofficebringfortune.Yetwhatiscreativityinthefirstplace? Figure2.Peopleoftenhavedifficultydescribingwheretheircreativeideascamefrom.Whenyouthinkofsomethingcreative,howdoyoutypicallycomeupwithit? Creativity:WhatIsIt? Creativityhappenswhensomeonecomesupwithacreativeidea.Anexamplewouldbeacreativesolutiontoadifficultproblem.Butwhatmakesanideaorsolutioncreative?Creativityistheabilitytogenerate,create,ordiscovernewideas,solutions,andpossibilities.Verycreativepeopleoftenhaveintenseknowledgeaboutsomething,workonitforyears,lookatnovelsolutions,seekouttheadviceandhelpofotherexperts,andtakerisks.Althoughcreativityisoftenassociatedwiththearts,itisactuallyavitalformofintelligencethatdrivespeopleinmanydisciplinestodiscoversomethingnew.Creativitycanbefoundineveryareaoflife,fromthewayyoudecorateyourresidencetoanewwayofunderstandinghowacellworks. Althoughpsychologistshaveofferedseveraldefinitionsofcreativity(Plucker,Beghetto,&Dow,2004;Runco&Jaeger,2012),probablythebestdefinitionistheonerecentlyadaptedfromthethreecriteriathattheU.S.PatentOfficeusestodecidewhetheraninventioncanreceivepatentprotection(Simonton,2012). Thefirstcriterionisoriginality.Theideamusthavealowprobability.Indeed,itoftenshouldbeunique.AlbertEinstein’sspecialtheoryofrelativitycertainlysatisfiedthiscriterion.Nootherscientistcameupwiththeidea. Thesecondcriterionisusefulness.Theideashouldbevaluableorwork.Forexample,asolutionmust,infact,solvetheproblem.Anoriginalrecipethatproducesadishthattastestooterribletoeatcannotbecreative.InthecaseofEinstein’stheory,hisrelativityprincipleprovidedexplanationsforwhatotherwisewouldbeinexplicableempiricalresults. Figure3.Evenwiththethreecriteriaforcreativity(originality,usefulness,andsurprise),determiningwhetherartis“creative”canprovedifficult.Especiallywithalltheexamplesofartistswhoseworkwasn’tdeemedcreativeuntilaftertheirdeaths.[Image:LinusBohman] Thethirdandlastcriterionissurprise.Theideashouldbesurprising,oratleastnonobvious(tousethetermusedbythePatentOffice).Forinstance,asolutionthatisastraightforwardderivationfromacquiredexpertisecannotbeconsideredsurprisingevenifitwereoriginal.Einstein’srelativitytheorywasnotastep-by-stepdeductionfromclassicalphysicsbutratherthetheorywasbuiltuponanewfoundationthatchallengedtheverybasisoftraditionalphysics.Whenapplyingthesethreecriteria,itiscriticaltorecognizethatoriginality,usefulness,andsurpriseareallquantitativeratherthanqualitativeattributesofanidea.Specifically,wereallyhavetospeakofdegreetowhichanideasatisfieseachofthethreecriteria.Inaddition,thethreeattributesshouldhaveazeropoint,thatis,itshouldbepossibletospeakofanidealackinganyoriginality,usefulness,orsurprisewhatsoever.Finally,wehavetoassumethatifanideascoreszeroonanyonecriterionthenitmusthavezerocreativityaswell.Forexample,someonewhoreinventsthewheelisdefinitelyproducingausefulidea,buttheideahaszerooriginalityandhencenocreativitywhatsoever.Similarly,someonewhoinventedaparachutemadeentirelyoutofsteelreinforcedconcretewouldgetlotsofcreditfororiginality—andsurprise!—butnoneforusefulness. CognitiveProcesses:HowDoCreatorsThink? Figure4.Ifyouweretaskedwiththinkingupasmanyusesforabrickasyoucould,howwellwouldyoudo?Wouldyouhavethoughttochiselthebrickintoasculpture?Whataboutusingitassidewalkchalk?[Image:SimonHooks] Cognitivescientistshavelongbeeninterestedinthethinkingprocessesthatleadtocreativeideas(Simonton&Damian,2013).Indeed,manyso-called“creativitytests”areactuallymeasuresofthethoughtprocessesbelievedtounderliethecreativeact(Simonton,2003b).Thefollowingtwomeasuresareamongthebestknown. LinktoLearning Testyourowncreativityusingthislinktotakeoneoffivecommoncreativitytests. ThefirstistheRemoteAssociatesTest,orRAT,thatwasintroducedbyMednick(1962).Mednickbelievedthatthecreativeprocessrequirestheabilitytoassociateideasthatareconsideredveryfarapartconceptually.TheRATconsistsofitemsthatrequiretherespondenttoidentifyawordthatcanbeassociatedtothreeratherdistinctstimuluswords.Forexample,whatwordcanbeassociatedwiththewords“widow,bite,monkey”?Theanswerisspider(blackwidowspider,spiderbite,spidermonkey).Thisparticularquestionisrelativelyeasy,othersaremuchmoredifficult,butitgivesyouthebasicidea. ThesecondmeasureistheUnusualUsesTask(Guilford,1967;Torrance,1974).Here,theparticipantisaskedtogeneratealternativeusesforacommonobject,suchasabrick.Theresponsescanbescoredonfourdimensions:(a)fluency,thetotalnumberofappropriateusesgenerated;(b)originality,thestatisticalrarityoftheusesgiven;(c)flexibility,thenumberofdistinctconceptualcategoriesimpliedbythevarioususes;and(d)elaboration,theamountofdetailgivenforthegenerateduses.Forexample,usingabrickasapaperweightrepresentsadifferentconceptualcategorythatusingitsvolumetoconservewaterinatoilettank.Thecapacitytoproduceunusualusesisbutoneexampleofthegeneralcognitiveabilitytoengageindivergentthinking(Guilford,1967).Unlikeconvergentthinking,whichconvergesonthesinglebestanswerorsolution,divergentthinkingcomesupwithmultiplepossibilitiesthatmightvarygreatlyinusefulness. Unfortunately,manydifferentcognitiveprocesseshavebeenlinkedtocreativity(Simonton&Damian,2013).Thatiswhywecannotusethesingular;thereisnosuchthingasthe“creativeprocess.”Nonetheless,thevariousprocessesdoshareonefeature:Allenablethepersonto“thinkoutsidethebox”imposedbyroutinethinking—toventureintoterritorythatwouldotherwisebeignored(Simonton,2011).Creativityrequiresthatyougowhereyoudon’tknowwhereyou’regoing. EverydayConnection:Creativity Dr.TomSteitz,theSterlingProfessorofBiochemistryandBiophysicsatYaleUniversity,hasspenthiscareerlookingatthestructureandspecificaspectsofRNAmoleculesandhowtheirinteractionscoldhelpproduceantibioticsandwardoffdiseases.Asaresultofhislifetimeofwork,hewontheNobelPrizeinChemistryin2009.Hewrote,“Lookingbackoverthedevelopmentandprogressofmycareerinscience,Iamremindedhowvitallyimportantgoodmentorshipisintheearlystagesofone’scareerdevelopmentandconstantface-to-faceconversations,debateanddiscussionswithcolleaguesatallstagesofresearch.Outstandingdiscoveries,insightsanddevelopmentsdonothappeninavacuum”(Steitz,2010,para.39).BasedonSteitz’scomment,itbecomesclearthatsomeone’screativity,althoughanindividualstrength,benefitsfrominteractionswithothers.Thinkofatimewhenyourcreativitywassparkedbyaconversationwithafriendorclassmate.Howdidthatpersoninfluenceyouandwhatproblemdidyousolveusingcreativity? TryIt Glossary analyticalintelligence: alignedwithacademicproblemsolvingandcomputations convergentthinking:theoppositeofdivergentthinking,thecapacitytonarrowinonthesingle“correct”answerorsolutiontoagivenquestionorproblem(e.g.,givingtherightresponseonanintelligencetests) creativity: abilitytogenerate,create,ordiscovernewideas,solutions,andpossibilities creativeintelligence: abilitytoproducenewproducts,ideas,orinventinganew,novelsolutiontoaproblem crystallizedintelligence: characterizedbyacquiredknowledgeandtheabilitytoretrieveit culturalintelligence: abilitywithwhichpeoplecanunderstandandrelatetothoseinanotherculture divergentthinking:theoppositeofconvergentthinking,thecapacityforexploringmultiplepotentialanswersorsolutionstoagivenquestionorproblem(e.g.,comingupwithmanydifferentusesforacommonobject) emotionalintelligence: abilitytounderstandemotionsandmotivationsinyourselfandothers fluidintelligence: abilitytoseecomplexrelationshipsandsolveproblems MultipleIntelligencesTheory: Gardner’stheorythateachpersonpossessesatleasteighttypesofintelligence practicalintelligence: aka“streetsmarts” triarchictheoryofintelligence: Sternberg’stheoryofintelligence;threefacetsofintelligence:practical,creative,andanalytical LicensesandAttributions CClicensedcontent,OriginalModificationandadaptation.Providedby:LumenLearning.License:CCBY:AttributionModificationandadaptationofcontentoncreativity.Providedby:LumenLearning.License:CCBY:AttributionCClicensedcontent,SharedpreviouslyWhatAreIntelligenceandCreativity?.Authoredby:OpenStaxCollege.Locatedat:http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:llWPi2c1@5/What-Are-Intelligence-and-Crea.License:CCBY:Attribution.LicenseTerms:Downloadforfreeathttp://cnx.org/content/col11629/latest/.Rubik'scube.Providedby:Pixabay.Locatedat:https://www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-color-play-concentration-54101/.License:CC0:NoRightsReservedCreativity.Authoredby:DeanKeithSimonton.Providedby:UniversityofCalifornia,Davis.Locatedat:http://nobaproject.com/modules/creativity.Project:TheNobaProject.License:CCBY-NC-SA:Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlikeAllrightsreservedcontentHorizonBattleoftheBrains.Authoredby:Tatiana.Providedby:BBC.Locatedat:https://vimeo.com/107250116.License:Other.LicenseTerms:VimeoLicenseCanyousolvetheprisonerhatriddle?-AlexGendler.Authoredby:Ted-Ed.Locatedat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5vJSNXPEwA&index=1&list=PLUmyCeox8XCwB8FrEfDQtQZmCc2qYMS5a.License:Other.LicenseTerms:StandardYouTubeLicenseControversyofIntelligence:CrashCoursePsychology#23.Authoredby:CrashCourse.Locatedat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTz3QjcloI&feature=youtu.be&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOPRKzVLY0jJY-uHOH9KVU6.License:Other.LicenseTerms:StandardYouTubeLicense Previous Next