Intelligence is the propensity for acquisition, retention, and use of knowledge to recognize problems and to use logic, reasoning, and planning to solve them. It is conceptualized as the information perception and retention as knowledge for its application in developing behaviors that help a person to adapt to his environment or context. Human intelligence is one of the most researched yet controversial topics which have led to the developing of different theories. Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory and Robert Sternberg ‘s Triarchic Theory will be the area of focus in the teach section while the application of the theories in science, law, education, music, art, medicine and everyday life will be explored in the apply section. Intelligence is used in the education sector to assess students, in the job market it is used in screening job seekers, in project allocation in the workplace and other areas as well.
Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory was first published in his book, Frames Of Mind in 1983 (Bray, 2011).The theory details the various types of human intelligence, education capacities, personalities, and character in the areas of education and the workplace. Howard Gardner’s theory was initially developed as a contribution to psychology, but its application was later extended to the education sector (Muller, 2013). Gardner posits that everybody is born with the capability to exhibit Intelligence in different areas of life competencies that make people outstanding in various fields. He subdivides these competencies into eight areas; linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, motor ability, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic intelligence (Bray, 2011). Gardner argues that these intelligence aspects should be considered in addition to the obvious and logical and lingual skills termed to as human intelligence quotient I.Q (Muller, 2013). Gardner’s argues that the numerical expressions on test scores are not an all rounded but rather are a limited way of assessing people's abilities and their general human intelligence.
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According to the multiple intelligences theory, Visual-spatial Intelligence refers to a person’s ability to interpret and create visual images (Muller, 2013). This encompasses their pictorial imagination and expression as well as their level of comprehension of the correlation between images and deciphering their meanings, and between space and effect, this innate ability enables people to learn things from the body language and facial expressions depicted by other people (Bray, 2011).This type of intelligence is facilitated by visual aids like diagrams, charts, illustrated textbooks and handouts. These individuals possess traits like an affinity for color accessories and a keen eye for changes in scenery (Bray, 2011).Verbal-linguistic Intelligence encompasses the mastery of words and both the written and verbal language (Muller, 2013). People with this intelligence possess the ability to retain, interpret and explain ideas and information using language and are quick to intermarry communication and meaning.
Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence is the ability to expertly control body movement , be physically agile and have a perfect balance of eye and body coordination as well as manual dexterity (Muller, 2013). Kinesthetic people are hyper active and have difficulty sitting still for long periods of time at a time and prefer interactive and explorative activities (Bray, 2011). They thrive in directly involving activities such as acting out reading and research activities. Traits common to people with kinesthetic intelligence include high body coordination, frequent use, and observation of body language and gestures and a passion for fixing things (Bray, 2011). They enjoy dancing, hands-on activities, acting, role playing and athletics. They are mostly athletes, physical education teachers, surgeons, gymnasts, actors, and firefighters. Mary Lou Retton, Dewayne Wade, Babe Ruth, and Monica Seles are some of the famous people who possessed this level of intelligence.
Logical-mathematical Intelligence involves logical thinking , pattern detection and having the ability to be scientifically reasonable and making scientific deductions (Muller, 2013). Logical individuals are good at problems analysis, solving math problems and have an excellent understanding of causal-effect relationships (Bray, 2011). Traits common in people with this intelligence include high levels of inquisitiveness and a higher reasoning capacity in regards to critical thinking and problem solving (Muller, 2013). These individuals apply their knowledge of numbers, logarithms and create links from patterns in analytical and logical problem solving (Bray, 2011).They excel exceedingly well in the fields of science, computer programming, research, accounts, mathematics and as detectives. Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Marie Curie, and Isaac Newton possessed this level of intelligence.
Interpersonal Intelligence is measured by a person’s ability to perceive other people's feelings and how well they can relate to other people (Bray, 2011). The ability to accordingly interpret other people’s behavior and effectively communicate with them while understanding the relationship between them and their situations is a measure of interpersonal intelligence (Bray, 2011). Behavioral traits related with such people include ease of forming and maintaining friendships, ability to interact and blend in with others, leadership and organization capabilities and great conflict resolution skills (Muller, 2013). They are best suited for careers in sociology, research, acting, politics, theology, and teaching. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr are such examples. Intrapersonal Intelligence, on the other hand, is measured by how well a person handles themselves emotionally, their self-awareness levels , their personal cognizance, objectivity and how they react to the world around them and to change (Bray, 2011). Therefore interpersonal intelligence is about an individual and their social interactions while intrapersonal intelligence is about how a person feels about themselves and how these personal feelings and attitudes are projected to the world (Muller, 2013).Traits common to intrapersonal intelligent people include, introspection, personal awareness and they enjoy quiet moments alone to think and reflect. They opt for careers in theology, research, and philosophy’s (Bray, 2011). Confucius, and Mohandas Gandhi are examples of famous people who possessed this intelligence.
Musical Intelligence is the ability to be aware, appreciative of and able to recognize the use of sounds in tonal and rhythmic patterns in relation to feelings or rather being music smart (Muller, 2013) . Individuals with this intelligence have an ear for sound, find meaning in music, can play instruments with ease, and they can also sing (Bray, 2011) . Traits common to these people include the ability to create excellent rhythms and melodies through singing, humming, chanting, and rapping (Muller, 2013) . They also love listening to; reading and writing music. Their careers fields are singing, music composition, and music conduction (Muller, 2013) . Michael Jackson and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are examples of legends that possessed this intelligence. Naturalist intelligence is unique to people who love the natural world (Muller, 2013) . These individuals like spending time in the natural habitat and work optimally well and feel best skilled there; they are nature smart in short.
The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence was developed by Psychologist Robert Sternberg. He defined intelligence as the mental activity aimed at enabling an individual to purposively adapt to, select and shape their real world environments in relevance to their life (Bray, 2011). In his theory, he concurs with Gardner that intelligence should not be limited to a single general ability but also argues that the intelligences classified by Gardner's are more holistically he posits that meta-components or executive processes facilitate people’s planning, monitoring and evaluation processes (Muller, 2013) . Performance components , on the other hand, play the role of carrying out the directives of the metacomponents while Knowledge -acquisition components facilitate problem-solving and knowledge acquisition (Bray, 2011) . According to the Triarchic theory, intelligence is three sided to encompass analytical, creative, and practical aspects.
Analytical intelligence refers to a person’s capability to find solutions to problems. The theory posits that analytical intelligence is manifested when a person acts intelligently in the analysis, evaluation, and judgment comparison of a problem to a past experience when looking for a solution (Bray, 2011) . Typically, analytical intelligence deals with solving familiar problems whose judgments are abstract (Muller, 2013) . Analytical intelligence involves problem-solving through the encoding of information, combining it and then comparing the piece of information to other options to come up with a solution (Bray, 2011). According to the theory, better reasoners spend more time onmetacomponential planning than their poor reasoning counterparts when faced with difficult reasoning problems (Muller, 2013). People who reason faster are said to recognize that it is better to face a problem head on and process it efficiently as they proceed rather than to waste time over thinking and planning.
The theory further posits that creative intelligence involves the capacity to deal with new situations through application of past experiences while adapting to changes in the environment (Muller, 2013). For instance, a creative employee retains a new job by changing his behavior to the organizational culture (Bray, 2011). Therefore, creative intelligence is assessed by an individual’s ability to cope with problems and to draw lessons from them as well as develop an adaptation mechanism.
Practical intelligence involves the application of individual abilities in resolving the problems that they encounter in their everyday life (Muller, 2013) .Sternberg posits that practical intelligence is based on the concept of tacit knowledge (Muller, 2013) .This concept is defined as the knowledge an individual should have in order to carry out a task in an unfamiliar environment that they have never been explicitly taught to work in.
These intelligence theories are applicable in day to day lives. Gardner’s work has been instrumental in the education sector (Bray, 2011). His theory of multiple capabilities shows that students who lack abilities in one area can excel in others through learning and channeling their intelligences (Muller, 2013) \ .He identified one of the main reasons for learning difficulties as the fear of the unknown since it affects a person’s capacity to internalize new and difficult information (Bray, 2011). However, he suggested that using innate abilities to reason and analyze problems helps to alleviate conditions like math anxiety.
Intelligence theories are also applicable in the field of medicine. In a medical study in Russia tests based on analytical abilities, creativity, and practicality were administered to determine psychological and physical wellbeing among Russian adults (Bray, 2011) . Their psychological state was tested through administering paper-and-pencil tests of depression and anxiety. On the other hand holistic body wellbeing was assessed using self-report (Muller, 2013) . The most accurate indicator of the mental and physical status was concluded to be the practical-intelligence measure seconded by the analytical intelligence test and the creative intelligence test being third (Bray, 2011) . Such study findings are important in the formulation of future medical testing methods for effective and more accurate methods.
The application of the Sternberg Triarchic theory was proven in a test which was administered to three hundred and twenty six high-school American students. Students were selected using the criteria of analytical abilities, creativity levels, practicality levels and a balance of the three abilities (Bray, 2011) . They were later sub-divided into four instructional groups on the basis of memory, analytical, creative, or practical instruction (Muller, 2013) . The Students who were assigned to groups that prioritized their capabilities performed better than their counterparts who had been placed in groups that didn’t match their expertise (Bray, 2011) . This test showed that when learning is fashioned in line with how students think, they are more likely to perform better in school. Students with given abilities if never taught or assessed in a manner that acknowledges the abilities may fail again and again nor for lack of intelligence but for the wrong teaching strategy.
Therefore, intelligence theories are applicable in the assessment and understanding of the human intelligence. They highlight important aspects of intelligence through placing emphasis on the processes of intelligence as opposed to domains of intelligence. They are applicable in education, science, medicine and almost all aspects of the human life.
References
Bray, M. A., & Kehle, T. J. (2011). The Oxford handbook of school psychology . New York: Oxford University Press.
Muller, V. C. (2013). Philosophy and theory of artificial intelligence . Heidelberg: Springer.
