Multiple Intelligences - Gardner's Theory

What does "Multiple Intelligences" mean? 

All of us discover at one point in our life, whether it is in an early age or during growth, that we are better at some things than others. As we grow and learn, we gain new skills and work on assigned skills, usually from school, society of family, but this happens to all of us: while we try to be great at everything, we realise that we don't perform the same in every skill. Maybe we are great at writing and vocabulary, but struggle with mathematics. Or maybe you are good at visualizing and designing but perform poorly in sports and physical activities. Everything happens because of... multiple intelligences!

So, what exactly does Gardner say about this? 

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences proposes that people are not born with all of the intelligence they will ever have. Meaning that, while a person might be particularly strong in a specific area, such as musical intelligence, he or she most likely possesses a range of abilities. For example, individual might be strong in verbal, musical, and naturalistic intelligence.

He proposed this theory in 1983 and divided intelligences into 8 main groups: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist.

Visual-Spatial Intelligence

People who are strong in visual-spatial intelligence are good at visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions as well as maps, charts, videos, and pictures. Career chances: architect, designer, artist etc.

Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence

People who are strong in linguistic-verbal intelligence are able to use words well, both when writing and speaking. These individuals are typically very good at writing stories, memorizing information, and reading. Career choices: journalist, lawyer, teacher, writer etc.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

People who are strong in logical-mathematical intelligence are good at reasoning, recognizing patterns, and logically analyzing problems. These individuals tend to think conceptually about numbers, relationships, and patterns. Career chances: mathematician, engineer, computer programmer, accountant etc.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Those who have high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are said to be good at body movement, performing actions, and physical control. People who are strong in this area tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Career choices: dancer, builder, actor, sportsperson etc. 

Musical Intelligence

People who have strong musical intelligence are good at thinking in patterns, rhythms, and sounds. They have a strong appreciation for music and are often good at musical composition and performance. Career choices: musician, composer, singer, conductor etc.

Interpersonal Intelligence

Those who have strong interpersonal intelligence are good at understanding and interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires, and intentions of those around them. Career choices: psychologist, counselor, salesperson, politician.

Intrapersonal Intelligence

Individuals who are strong in intrapersonal intelligence are good at being aware of their own emotional states, feelings, and motivations. They tend to enjoy self-reflection and analysis, including daydreaming, exploring relationships with others, and assessing their personal strengths. Career choices: philosopher, theorist, writer etc.

Naturalistic Intelligence

Naturalistic is the most recent addition to Gardner’s theory and has been met with more resistance than his original seven intelligences. According to Gardner, individuals who are high in this type of intelligence are more in tune with nature and are often interested in nurturing, exploring the environment, and learning about other species. These individuals are said to be highly aware of even subtle changes to their environments. Career choices: biologist, gardener, farmer, conservationist etc. 

One common misconception about multiple intelligences is that it means the same thing as learning styles. Instead, multiple intelligences represents different intellectual abilities. Learning styles, according to Howard Gardner, are the ways in which an individual approaches a range of tasks. Someone can be more skilled at something compared to something else, but it does not mean they are incapable of learning it. They can even put to use their way of learning to learn a skill better, like for example, visual-spatial intelligence can use pictures, graphs and illustrations to learn mathematical concepts. 

It is extremely important not to classify and fixate on these types of intelligences and generalise every behaviour and learning style on them. Everyone possesses skills of the intelligences mentioned, and that means that everyone can learn anything they put their mind and work to. They do not have to be limited to only a specific type of intelligence, and it shouldn't be used as an excuse or as a barrier to learn new things in new experiences.