The theory of multiple intelligences.

The theory of multiple intelligences, developed by psychologist Howard Gardner in the late 1970's and early 1980's, posits that individuals possess eight or more relatively autonomous intelligences. Individuals draw on these intelligences, individually and corporately, to create products and solve problems that are relevant to the societies in which they live (Gardner, 1999). According to Gardner's analysis, only two intelligences—linguistic and logical mathematical—have been valued and tested for in modern secular schools; it is useful to think of that language-logic combination as " academic " or " scholarly intelligence ". In conceiving of intelligence as multiple rather than unitary in nature, the theory of multiple intelligences, or (hereafter) MI theory, represents a departure from traditional conceptions of intelligence first formulated in the early twentieth century, measured today by IQ tests, and studied in great detail by Piaget (1950, 1952) and other cognitively oriented psychologists. & Binet, 1916) designed the precursor to the modern-day intelligence test in the early 1900's in order to identify French school children in need of special educational interventions. Binet's scale, along with the contemporaneous work of English psychologist Charles Spearman (1904, 1927) on 'g', served as the principal catalysts for conceiving of all forms of intellectual activity as stemming from a unitary or general ability for problem-solving (Perkins & Tishman, 2001). Within academic psychology, Spearman's theory of general intelligence (or 'g') remains the asserts that individuals who demonstrate a particular aptitude in one intelligence will not necessarily demonstrate a comparable aptitude in another intelligence (Gardner, 2006b). For example, an individual may possess a profile of intelligences that is high in spatial intelligence but moderate or low in interpersonal intelligence or vice versa. This conception of intelligence as multiple rather than singular forms the primary distinction between MI theory and the conception of intelligence that dominates Western psychological theory and much of common discourse. A second key distinction concerns the origins of intelligence. While some contemporary scholars have asserted that intelligence is influenced by environmental factors (Diamond & of the concept of general intelligence conceive of intelligence as an innate trait with which one is born and which one can therefore do little to change In contrast, MI theory conceives of intelligence as a combination of heritable potentials and skills that can be developed in diverse ways through relevant experiences (Gardner, 1983). For example, one individual might be born with a high intellectual potential in the bodily-kinesthetic …