The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Abstract

The theory of multiple intelligences, developed by psychologist Howard Gardner in the late 1970s and early 1980s, 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, 1983, 1993, 1999, 2006b, 2006c). The eight identified intelligences include linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence (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 – hereafter MI theory – represents a departure from traditional conceptions of intelligence first formulated in the early 20th century, measured today by IQ tests, and studied in great detail by Piaget (1950, 1952) and other cognitively oriented psychologists.

Keywords: multiple intelligences