 Dhirendra R
CEO
Eduquity
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Intelligence has been defined and studied under a number of
different rubrics, among them individual differences, cognitive abilities, and
aptitudes. Probably the most influential developments in our recent
understanding of these concepts have come from educational and psychological
researchers associated with cognitive psychology. Three of those individuals,
Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, and John Horn serve as a representative
sample of researchers who have made significant gains in our current
conceptions of intelligence.
Ironically, the skills we value most of all in the conventional
curriculum seem to be those that often matter the least in life. Research
indicates that when it comes to successful job performance, a high level of
practical intelligence may be even more important than an abundance of academic
intelligence.
Interesting? Yes, and thought provoking too. Read on. And we do
hope you enjoy this issue of 'Equations'.
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New
emerging factors in intelligence
Academic intelligence is knowing THAT; practical intelligence is
knowing HOW
Psychologist Sternberg points out that many theorists criticise
the traditional intelligence tests because they do not measure the wide scope
of abilities now thought to be facets of intelligence. "IQ tests do not measure
the creative abilities, synthesis and practical skills, nor are they sensitive
to cultural and contextual backgrounds." (Sternberg, 1991)
IQ
Counts, But What Really Counts Is Successful Intelligence
Academic intelligence of the kind measured by IQ tests matters,
but really, it doesn't matter that much. For success in school and later in
life, successful intelligence is a key factor. How many really successful high
school principals earned 700s on their SATs? How many of them were first in
their high school class, or even in the top few percent? How could these
principals be so successful if they weren't at the top of their classes, either
in ability test scores or in achievement?
Successful intelligence is the acquisition and use of what you
need to know to succeed in a particular environment, which you are not
explicitly taught and which usually isn't even verbalised. Ask yourself how
many aspects of your job are things you learned how to do in college or
graduate school, and how many are things you learned on the job. Ask yourself
how many are things someone showed you how to do, and how many are things you
figured out for yourself, probably without anyone saying much of anything.
Sternberg introduced a three-part theory of intelligence known as
the Triarchic Theory. Sternberg (1985) based his theory on the
relationship between intelligence and experience, the external world, and the
internal world of the individual. The relationship with the internal world is
academic smart, which is what Sternberg said IQ tests usually measure. This
encompasses his componential sub-theory involving analytical thinking. Being
street smart involves his contextual sub-theory. In this, one learns how to
manipulate the environment. The third type of intelligence covers the
experiential sub-theory, which entails being a creative thinker. With this, one
is seeing old problems in new ways.
Characteristics
Of People With High Successful Intelligence
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They know their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make
the most of the strengths while finding ways to correct or at least to
compensate for their weaknesses. Those successfully intelligent principals who
are not masters of paperwork, for example, may find someone else to do as much
of the paperwork as possible for them.
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They are goal setters. Some of them are visionaries; others
are not. But they all know they need to work toward explicit, measurable goals.
They are not people who just happen to find themselves on a path, whatever that
path may happen to be.
-
They are highly motivated, but they know when to quit as
well as to persevere. They know there is no substitute for working very hard
toward a goal, but they also know that sometimes a tactical retreat is better
than a strategic debacle. For example, if they can't convince the
superintendent, the board of education, or whomever of a plan they have in
mind, they may decide to wait until they have a better argument, rather than
try the blunderbuss approach to getting their way.
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They follow through. They know that one of the best ways to
lose credibility is to make all sorts of promises and then fail to keep them.
They may promise less than others do, but they deliver on what they promise.
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They are high in self-efficacy -- they believe in their
ability to accomplish what must get done. A common mistake is to believe that
self-esteem is important for success. It isn't. In fact, many successful people
do not have particularly high self-esteem, defined as a globalized positive
evaluation of oneself, independent of one's accomplishments. Part of what
motivates successful people is often their not particularly high self-esteem.
High self-efficacy means believing in one's ability to get a job done. People
who don't think they can succeed, often don't: Having told themselves what they
can't do, they then proceed not to do it.
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They figure out who owns what problems, and take
responsibility for the problems they own. A common error in people lower in
successful intelligence is to try to solve problems that are not even their
problems to solve. Successfully intelligent people decide which problems are
theirs to solve, and which are worth putting the time into solving, and then
they take responsibility for making sure those problems are solved, and solved
well.
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They can translate thought into action. To be academically
intelligent, you don't need to act. If you think well, you can probably do well
on a typical academic intelligence or achievement test. Successful
intelligence, ultimately, is measured by what you accomplish. Thus, the final
criterion for successful intelligence is not a test score, but a real-world
accomplishment.
Current
Efforts
What Is Success Score and How Is It Different?
Based on the strong grounding of Sternberg's theory of successful
intelligence, we at Eduquity Career Technologies have developed an
exclusive assessment tool called the Eduquity Success Score. Which is
based on the model developed by Sternberg to suit the Indian population.
Research indicates that when it comes to successful job
performance, a high level of practical intelligence may be even more important
than an abundance of academic intelligence. That's the conclusion of a
study of 200 high-level managers presented at the 105th Annual Convention of
the American Psychological Association (APA) in Chicago.
It is not in the amount of knowledge we have; it's the way we
organize it.
First, successful intelligence is distinct from academic
intelligence
Second, successful intelligence predicts job performance at least
as well as and often better than conventional tests of intelligence.
Third, successful intelligence is not identical from one domain to
another.
Fourth, successful intelligence is important even to students in
school.
To
Conclude..
Successful intelligence involves creative and practical aspects of
intelligence in addition to the memory and analytical aspects common to
conventional intelligence tests
Successful intelligence can be taught. It's not something with
which you just happen to be born but rather something you pick up along the way
through life.
But one must always remember that the ultimate measure of
successful intelligence is accomplishment in the real world, not a test score.
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