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The Nature of Intelligence301interact with others contributes to Asperger’s syndrome being categorized as a disability.However, not everyone considers Asperger’s to be a true disorder. Are theautism spectrum disorders disabilities—or are they differences? We consider thistopic in the In Focus box, “Neurodiversity: Beyond IQ,” on the next page.Some of the abilities emphasized by Gardner, such as logical-mathematical intelligence,might be tapped by a standard intelligence test. However, other abilities,such as bodily-kinesthetic intelligence or musical intelligence, do not seem to bereflected on standard intelligence tests. Yet, as Gardner points out, such abilities arerecognized and highly valued in many different cultures, including our own.Robert SternbergThree Forms of IntelligenceRobert Sternberg agrees with Gardnerthat intelligence is a much broader qualitythan is reflected in the narrow rangeof mental abilities measured by a conventionalIQ test. However, Sternberg(1988, 1995) disagrees with Gardner’snotion of multiple, independent intelligences.He believes that some of Gardner’sintelligences are more accuratelydescribed as specialized talents, whereasintelligence is a more general quality.Sternberg (1988) points out that youwould be able to manage just fine if youwere tone-deaf and lacked “musical intelligence”in most societies. However, ifyou didn’t have the ability to reason andplan ahead, you would be unable tofunction in any culture.Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence emphasizes both the universal aspectsof intelligent behavior and the importance of adapting to a particular social and culturalenvironment. More specifically, Sternberg (1997) has proposed a different conceptionof intelligence, which he calls successful intelligence. Successful intelligence involvesthree distinct types of mental abilities: analytic, creative, and practical.Analytic intelligence refers to the mental processes used in learning how to solveproblems, such as picking a problem-solving strategy and applying it. Although conventionalintelligence tests measure mental abilities, they do not evaluate the strategiesused to solve problems, which Sternberg considers important in determininganalytic intelligence. In the Prologue, Tom’s ability to solve complex mathematicalequations reflects analytical intelligence.Creative intelligence is the ability to deal with novel situations by drawing on existingskills and knowledge. The intelligent person effectively draws on past experiencesto cope with new situations, which often involves finding an unusual way torelate old information to new. We’ll explore the topic of creativity in more detail inthe Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology section at the end of the chapter.Practical intelligence involves the ability to adapt to the environment and oftenreflects what is commonly called “street smarts.” Sternberg notes that what is requiredto adapt successfully in one particular situation or culture may be very differentfrom what is needed in another situation or culture. He stresses that the behaviorsthat reflect practical intelligence can vary depending on the particularsituation, environment, or culture.How would Tom fare by Sternberg’s criteria? Although high in most measuresof analytic intelligence, Tom would probably not rank very highly in creative orpractical intelligence. Successful adaptation involves the flexibility to choose the bestproblem-solving strategy or to know when to change strategies.Robert Sternberg (b. 1949) first becameinterested in studying intelligence after hedid poorly on a sixth grade intelligencetest. Sternberg soon came to realize thattest anxiety had interfered with his performance.Throughout his college years,Sternberg did poorly in courses that requiredrote learning—including his firstpsychology course at Yale. However,Sternberg persevered. He went on winmany awards for his research and, in 2003,was elected president of the AmericanPsychological Association. Much ofSternberg’s career has been devoted tostudying nontraditional types of intelligence,such as creativity and wisdom, anddeveloping new ways to measure thesequalities (Kaufman & others, 2009).triarchic theory of intelligenceRobert Sternberg’s theory that there arethree distinct forms of intelligence: analytic,creative, and practical.