Three Flavors of "Smart": Sternberg's Theory of Triarchic Intelligence

 
Do you know anyone who's really "booksmart" and did great in school but can't seem to accomplish what they want to in life?  Or how about someone who's very creative and clever but isn't living up to his or her full potential?

Prof. Robert J. Sternberg has an explanation.  His research suggests that there are really three different types of intelligence, which each person has to varying degrees.

Sternberg's three intelligences are as follows (and you can also look at this summary):

1. Analytic – good at “reasoning abstractly, acquiring knowledge, processing information, and planning and executing strategies” (Howard 54)

2. Creative – excels at “using experience, insight, and creativity to solve new problems, create new ideas, or combine unrelated facts” (Howard 54)

3. Practical – does well at “adapting to contexts; selecting or shaping one's environment” (Howard 54)

So, how are these intelligences observed?  According to Sternberg:

"The kinds of tasks people face in everyday life often require all three kinds of thinking. For example, selling a product requires one to analyze customers' needs, to invent a sales strategy, and to convince people to buy a product. Managing a business requires one to analyze market requirements, create products or services as well as a demand for them, and then to convince people of the value of dealing with the company. But the fact that many tasks require all three kinds of thinking does not mean that people…are equally adept at all three kinds of thinking" (n.p.).

I guess a good analogy to make here is that the three type of intelligence are like the three flavors in Neapolitan ice cream: they're designed to work together, and the more you have of each, the better off you are (unless you're lactose intolerant...then I just feel sorry for you).

(winter needs to end so I can have this or something like it)

(photo: found here and used in accordance with a Creative Commons license)

At any rate, these intelligences translate into different ways of learning and of seeing the world.  Because I'm interested in usability and its implications, the theory of triarchic intelligence makes me wonder if people with different levels of intelligence would disagree on what makes a website "usable."

For example, would someone with a high level of practical intelligence and lower levels of analytic and creative intelligence find a site like this (a School of Management) to be easier to use than this one (an Economics Department)?  How about this one (a Lifelong Kindergarten media lab)?  I tend to think so.

What do you think?  Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Works Cited:

Howard, Bruce C., Steven McGee, and Namsoo Shin. "The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence and Computer-Based Inquiry Learning." Educational Technology Research and Development 49 4 (2001): 49-69. Print.

Sternberg, Robert J. "Patterns of Giftedness: A Triarchic Analysis." Roeper Review 22 4 (2000): 231-5. Print.