Spearman and Gardner's Theories of Intelligence

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Please see response attached, which is also presented below. I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE

1. I am studying the Spearman's model of intelligence and Gardners multiple intelligences model. I am looking for several comparison and contrast of the two models.

If this is an essay assignment, a tentative outline for your compare and contrast paper might look something to the effect...

I. Introduction (about ¼ - ½ page introducing topic and purpose statement e.g. the purpose of this paper is to a compare and contrast two theories of intelligence, mainly Gardner's and Spearman's.)

II. Gardner and Spearman's theories

Gardner defines intelligence in terms of multiple intelligences. In contrast, Spearman's theory defines intelligences in terms of the "g" factor -general factor common to different learning experiences.

This is in sharp contrast to Gardner, who defines intelligence in terms of seven intelligences, such as...

On the other hands, Spearman argues... In comparison, Gardner argues...

And so on...

III. Conclusion (sum up the main points of comparisons).

Now let's look at some of the differences between the two theories:

Gardner's Theory

In contrast to Spearman, a relatively new approach is the theory of "multiple intelligences"; proposed by Howard Gardner (1983). On this view conceptions of intelligence should be informed not only by work with normal children and adults but also by studies of gifted individuals (including so-called 'savants"), of persons who have suffered brain damage, of experts and virtuosos, and of individuals from diverse cultures. These considerations have led Gardner to include:

· Musical
· Bodlily-kinesthetic, and
· Various forms of personal intelligence as well as more familiar spatial, linguistic, and logical mathematical abilities in the scope of his theory.

He argues that psychometric tests address only linguistic and logical plus some aspects of spatial intelligence; other forms have been entirely ignored. Moreover, the paper-and-pencil format of most tests rules out many kinds of intelligent performance that matter in everyday life, such as giving an extemporaneous talk (linguistic) or being able to find one's way in a new town (spatial). While Gardner's arguments have attracted considerable interest, the stability and validity of performance tests in these new domains has yet to be conclusively demonstrated. It is also possible to doubt whether some of these abilities?bodily-kinesthetic," for example?are appropriately described as forms of intelligence rather than as special talents. http://www.michna.com/privat.htm

Example 1: (full article)

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:
Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. We esteem the highly articulate or logical people of our culture. However, Dr. Gardner says that we should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, ...