Triarchic Theory

Defining Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to achieve success in life as defined by one's personal standards, within one's life context. The field of intelligence has, for the most part, produced tests that stress the academic aspect of intelligence, as one might expect, given the origins of modern intelligence testing in Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon's work at the beginning of the 20th century in designing an instrument that would distinguish children who would succeed from those who would fail in school. But the construct of intelligence needs to serve a broader purpose, accounting for the bases of success in all of one's life. Joseph Renzulli has pointed out that many children are gifted in school, but not in life. It is therefore important to define intelligence and giftedness in intelligence in the broader context of potential life, rather than just school, accomplishments.

One's ability to achieve success depends on one's capitalizing on one's strengths and correcting or compensating for one's weaknesses. Theories of intelligence typically specify some relatively fixed set of abilities. Such a specification is useful in establishing a common set of skills to be tested. But people achieve success, even within a given occupation, in many different ways. For example, successful teachers achieve success through many different blendings of skills rather than through any single formula that works for all of them. One teacher might excel in lecturing, another in leading seminars, another in supervising independent projects, another in raising students' self-esteem, and so forth. There is no one fixed set of abilities that constitutes the basis for giftedness in teaching. Different teachers bring different gifts to their teaching and excel in different ways.

Balancing of abilities is achieved to adapt to, shape, and select environments. Definitions of intelligence traditionally have emphasized the role of adaptation to the environment. But intelligence involves not only modifying oneself to suit the environment (adaptation), but also modifying the environment to suit oneself (shaping), and sometimes, finding a new environment that is a better match to one's skills, values, or desires (selection). For example, when someone takes a new job, that person is selecting a new environment in which to work. One needs to adapt by figuring out the rules and customs in the new employment setting and how to make oneself fit with them. But a person likely also wants to shape the environment, and make it a better place for himself or herself and others. For example, the person might have suggestions about how the work environment could be made a more rewarding one for himself or herself and other employees.

Success is attained through a balance of analytical, creative, and practical abilities. Analytical abilities are the abilities primarily measured by traditional tests of abilities. But success in life requires one to analyze one's own ideas as well as the ideas of others and to generate creative ideas and persuade other people of their value. This practical necessity occurs in the world of work, as when a subordinate tries to convince a superior of the value of his or her plan; in the world of personal relationships, as when a child attempts to convince a parent to do what he or she wants or when a spouse tries to convince the other spouse to do things his or her preferred way; and in the world of the school, as when a student writes an essay arguing for a point of view. People who are extremely gifted in one way but lacking in other abilities may be at risk in their life courses. For example, no matter how creative one is, if one cannot persuade others of the value of one's ideas, one may find oneself being frustrated in attempts to achieve acceptance of one's ideas.

...