Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized

by Robert J. Sternberg

For thirty years, Robert J. Sternberg has been among the most vocal critics of narrow conceptions of intelligence. In Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized Sternberg critically reviews and summarizes the best research available on human intelligence. He argues that any serious understanding of intelligence must go beyond the standard paper and pencil tests currently in use. In addition to analytical and quantitative abilities, a theory of intelligence must take account of peoples’ creative abilities – their ability to go beyond given information and imagine new and exciting ways of reformulating old problems. It must also take into account peoples’ ability to weigh options carefully and act prudently. Understanding one’s own intellectual shortcomings and learning how to overcome, Sternberg argues, is just as important as developing one’s strengths. As he weaves his way through decades of important research on these questions, Sternberg develops a vision of human intelligence that is far more nuanced and accurate than anything previously offered. Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized is essential reading for psychologists, cognitive scientists, educators, and organizational researchers.

Robert J. Sternberg is Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology at Tufts University. Prior to being at Tufts, he was IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Professor of Management in the School of Management, and Director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise at Yale University. This center, now relocated to Tufts, is dedicated to the advancement of theory, research, practice, and policy advancing the notion of intelligence as developing expertise, as a construct that is modifiable and capable, to some extent, of development throughout the lifespan. Author of over 1,100 articles, chapters, and books, Sternberg’s research focuses on intelligence, creativity, and wisdom, and he has studied love and close relationships as well as hate.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Philosophy

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

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

[خالد الديحاني · Rating 4 out of 5]

لقد قرأت الكتاب مترجماً
من قبل المركز القومي للترجمة
مصر
١٦٨٣ رقم الكتاب

١- الكتاب علمي دقيق ويعرض الكثير من النظريات ولكن بأسلوب
مشوق وفريد
٢- يحاول الكاتب جعل القاريء يستكشف مواطن الذكاء ثم الابداعية ثم الحكمة وبعدها ينقله ليربط فيما بينهم
٣- قامت المترجمة بعمل جبار فأبدعت حيث استطاعت التوفيق بين الترجمة العلمية الدقيقة واسلوب الكاتب السهل الممتنع
٤- كتاب تخصصي انصح به للمتخصصين ولمجانين القراءة

[Vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, if dry, overview of different ways of operationalizing, understanding, and applying theories of intelligence