Multiple Intelligences

Multiple intelligences theory (MI theory) was developed by Howard Gardner, a professor of cognition and education at Harvard University. Introduced in his 1983 book, Frames of Mind, and refined in subsequent writings, Gardner’s theory challenges the views of intelligence as measured by the intelligence quotient (more commonly referred to as IQ) and as described by Jean Piaget’s universal stages of cognitive development. Arguing that human intelligence is neither a single entity nor a unified set of processes, Gardner maintains that there are several distinct, relatively autonomous intelligences. Individual intellectual profiles reflect varied configurations of these intellectual capacities.