Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life by Sternberg PhD, Robert J., Forsythe, George B., Hedlund, Jenn (2000) Paperback

by Robert J. Sternberg

The purpose of this book is to present a broader view of intelligence than simply that which is defined by performance in intelligence tests, and to document the importance of intelligence not only in schools but in everyday life, including both job-related and domestic settings. Practical Intelligence brings together 15 chapters by distinguished experts in the field. It includes four main parts, plus introductory and concluding chapters. The first part deals with intelligence as it operates in job-related settings. The second part deals with intelligence as it operates in other, everyday settings. The third part deals with the development of practical intelligence over the lifespan. The fourth part deals with the relations between practical intelligence, on the one hand, and culture and society, on the other. The chapters represent a diversity of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Together, they offer a comprehensive overview of the current state of thinking about practical intelligence.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help

Paperback

First published August 29, 1986

About the author

Robert J. Sternberg's spectacular research career in psychology had a rather inauspicious beginning. In elementary school he performed poorly on IQ tests, and his teachers' actions conveyed their low expectations for his future progress. Everything changed when his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Alexa, saw that he had potential and challenged him to do better. With her encouragement, he became a high-achieving student, eventually graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University. In a gesture of gratitude, Dr. Sternberg dedicated his book, Successful Intelligence to Mrs. Alexa.

Dr. Sternberg's personal experiences with intelligence testing in elementary school lead him to create his own intelligence test for a 7 th grade science project. He happened to find the Stanford-Binet scales in the local library, and with unintentional impertinence, began administering the test to his classmates; his own test, the Sternberg Test of Mental Abilities (STOMA) appeared shortly thereafter. In subsequent years he distinguished himself in many domains of psychology, having published influential theories relating to intelligence, creativity, wisdom, thinking styles, love and hate.

Dr. Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of (Successful) Intelligence contends that intelligent behavior arises from a balance between analytical, creative and practical abilities, and that these abilities function collectively to allow individuals to achieve success within particular sociocultural contexts. Analytical abilities enable the individual to evaluate, analyze, compare and contrast information. Creative abilities generate invention, discovery, and other creative endeavors. Practical abilities tie everything together by allowing individuals to apply what they have learned in the appropriate setting. To be successful in life the individual must make the best use of his or her analytical, creative and practical strengths, while at the same time compensating for weaknesses in any of these areas. This might involve working on improving weak areas to become better adapted to the needs of a particular environment, or choosing to work in an environment that values the individual's particular strengths. For example, a person with highly developed analytical and practical abilities, but with less well-developed creative abilities, might choose to work in a field that values technical expertise but does not require a great deal of imaginative thinking. Conversely, if the chosen career does value creative abilities, the individual can use his or her analytical strengths to come up with strategies for improving this weakness. Thus, a central feature of the triarchic theory of successful intelligence is adaptability-both within the individual and within the individual's sociocultural context.

Reviews

[Doni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this book would provide a curriculum for teaching "soft skills." Instead, it was a general history of what intelligence means and how it is desirable to measure for practical intelligence rather than the ever-illusive general intelligence. The research was funded by the U.S. army and the second to last chapter detailed intelligence in the military. It would seem, then, that our purposes were very different.