My Quest to Understand Human Intelligence

Abstract: This chapter traces the development of my thinking on the nature of human intelligence, from my early childhood experiences in special education to my scientific investigations of the boundary conditions of general cognitive ability, to the formulation of my Dual-Process Theory and Theory of Personal Intelligence, to my encounter with positive psychology. This chapter is a call to shift the perspective on intelligence from an individual-differences approach to one that recognizes the whole person. The goal of this approach is to reduce the number of children who fall between the cracks in an educational system that focuses so much on the results of standardized tests and IQ tests as the measure of an individual’s intellectual and creative potential. I discuss the reasons why a broader, more personal perspective on intelligence is required to help all children live a meaningful life, and argue for greater integration with the fields of developmental and positive psychology.