Intelligence is the quality of the mind that entails the capability of the mind to learn from new experiences, understand various ideas, handle knowledge and adapt to new scenarios. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests are done to compare the intelligence between people (Nisbett et al., 2012). However, IQ tests do not give a clear picture of the social intelligence of an individual. This article is about findings on intelligence.
The topic of the article is Intelligence: New findings and theoretical developments (Nisbett et al., 2012). The course concept that is emphasized in the study is the multiple factors influencing intelligence. This research explains more about two theories of intelligence. They include Sternberg's triarchic theory and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence (Nisbett et al., 2012). The triarchic theory states that the intelligence of an individual is defined by the person's analytical intelligence, practical intelligence, and creative intelligence. Gardner's theory defines intelligence as being a factor of many aspects of intelligence and not as a result of only one aspect of intelligence.
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The research as meant to find out factors that affect the intelligence of people and whether intelligence is based on a specific measure (Nisbett et al., 2012). Among the questions that the study aimed to answer were: Does social class affect intelligence? Is genetic polymorphism related to intelligence? Does the environment have an impact on the environment? Does sex variation have an influence on the intelligence of a person? What effects does stress have on intelligence? What are the different aspects of intelligence?
This study was intended to illustrate that intelligence is not dependent on a single factor. Many methods and procedures were used in the study. The first methodology included carrying out IQ tests on 20 subjects, 10 males and 10 females who were university students. The next procedure involved giving the 20 subjects questions (Nisbett et al., 2012). The questionnaire inquired about the social status of their families and whether they have ever suffered from depression at any one time in their life. The questionnaire also tested the social, analytical and practical intelligence of the subjects by asking different questions. Social intelligence was tested through the answering of case scenarios on how to coexist among people in society (Nisbett et al., 2012). Creative intelligence was analyzed through asking open-ended questions on how to address a specific problem in the community. The subjects were also given certain calculations to solve. The IQ of the participants of the study was then determined by the summation of these three aspects of intelligence.
The results illustrated that the IQ of the boys was slightly higher than that of the females. The study also portrayed that the people who had grown up in areas of a higher social class were more intelligent than the others. Moreover, most of the subjects did not attain the same score in the questions of the various aspects of intelligence that were asked (Nisbett et al., 2012). Most of them performed well in the analytical question as compared to the social intelligence question. The study also discovered that those who had experienced severe forms of stress during their development scored poorly as compared to the others. From the study, the researchers concluded that intelligence is influenced by environmental factors, gender, and stress (Nisbett et al., 2012). A key discovery they made was that intelligence involved many aspects and that being intelligent in one aspect, such as analytical does not mean you are intelligent in all aspects. In addition, they discovered that genetic polymorphism does not play a major role in the intelligence of an individual.
Based on the findings of this research, my view is that intelligence entails multiple aspects as defined by the Sternberg’s triarchic theory and supported by the multiple theory (Nisbett et al., 2012). Most people who are intelligent in arithmetic and creative areas do not exhibit the same intelligence in social aspects. Though various researchers support the claim that males are more intelligent than females, it is the environment that each of them is exposed to and the biological factors that influence this intelligence. Conditions such as stress also interfere with the intelligence of a person. When one is under stress, the body produces the stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone is linked to the pathogenesis of dementia which leads to loss of short –tie memory and eventually long-term memory. The idea that genetic polymorphism is associated with the intelligence of an individual is incorrect.
Reference
Nisbett, R. E., Aronson, J., Blair, C., Dickens, W., Flynn, J., Halpern, D. F., & Turkheimer, E. (2012). Intelligence: new findings and theoretical developments. American psychologist , 67 (2), 130.
