Is Intelligence A Separate Personality Trait? Essay

What is intelligence exactly? Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills or “the ability to learn and understand things to

Gottfredson, (1997) stated that intelligence is ‘a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.

Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.

Intelligence can be described in many ways with many tests focusing on an individual’s cognitive abilities and failing to account for the social and practical aspects of intelligence. Tests to measure intelligence vary immensely and test different types of intelligence; such as Emotional Intelligence, which has proved popular in more recent years. Although researchers are unable to agree upon a general definition of intelligence they do agree that there are 2 factors to be included in a broad definition: an individual’s ability to adapt to their environment and a capacity to learn from experience (Sternberg and Detterman, 1986). Tests do not , however, measure these components

David Wechsler defines intelligence “as a global capacity to think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment” (page 290). Over the course of several years, psychologist’s have presented theories based off of Wechsler’s definition of intelligence such as Howard Gardner’s theory of “Multiple Intelligence's” and Robert Sternberg’s “Triarchic Theory of Intelligence”. While some difference between Gardner and Sternberg are distinct there are similarities to their theories.

Everyone has as least pondered about how emotional intelligence can affect their own lives. Emotional Intelligence ties together events in your life in more ways than one. In an evaluation of myself, with the use of two online personality tests and articles, I have come into terms of what kind of person I am. I exhibit qualities of an introvert, intuitive, judging, and assertive person (INFJ Personality). My quality of thinking and feeling are more equal rather than being unbalanced (INFJ Personality).

Intelligence is a combination of knowledge and aptitude and shows the breadth and rate of learning (Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade 2008, p.511).

This paper commences with a brief overview of two competing influential theories that attempt to account for individual differences within the area of personality and intelligence. These are namely; Eysenck’s and Rachman’s Trait Theory (1965) and Geoerge Kelly’s Personal Construct theory, represented here through Salmon’s Phenomenological reworking of Kelly’s ideas in her approach to learning ( 2003) Following from which is

Intelligence is a very important factor in human psychology. Human intelligence is a rather complicated form of psychology and quite complex as well. Many people may lack intelligence, many people may have a strong amount of intelligence. Human intellect is what makes humans “smart” and sets us aside from animals and other types of beings. Many researchers in psychology have studied intelligence and how it makes us, us. Intelligence has since become something that can be tested and measured through a wide array of tests. Although intelligence can vary from person to person, it is what truly makes us human.

First, one needs to understand that Gardner’s proposal is a theory and not a proven fact. As a result, after, much revision, he revised his listing of ‘intelligences’ from the original seven to include ‘naturalist’ and ‘existential’ ‘intelligences’. Other scholars, such as Daniel T Willingham, professor of psychology at the university of Virginia, questions the rigorousness of the criteria that Gardner used to identify and formulate the listing of his ‘intelligences’. In this regard, professor Willingham cites Rodden et. al (2003), Mc Ghee (1971) and Wyer & Collins (1992) and argues ‘By these criteria I am also prepared to defend an ‘olfactory intelligence’, a ‘spelling intelligence’, and to sub divide Gardner’s spatial intelligence into near-space intelligence and far-space intelligence.’

Howard Gardner’s theory challenged that by stating an “intelligence encompasses the ability to create and solve problems, create products or provide services that are valued within a culture or society” (Zhou & Brown, 2015).

Intelligence is one of the most heritable traits thus, people differ in intelligence ranges. Heritability estimates range from 25% to 40% in early childhood to 80% in adulthood. These ranges may be in specific domains but those who do well in one domain often do well in others, leading towards general intelligence. In order to measure and evaluate differences in intelligence, psychometric tests are used to cover cognitive domains. These cognitive domains are reasoning, processing speeds, executive function, memory, and spatial ability. A definition of intelligence that is prominently used by researchers is: “Intelligence is a very general capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test‑taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings ‘catching on’, ‘making sense’ of things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do. Intelligence, so defined, can be measured, and intelligence tests measure it well.”

The subject of personality is one that is extremely complex and dynamic. Personality has been defined as the ingrained pattern of behavior, thoughts, and feelings consistent across situations and time. It consists of a mixture of characteristics and qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. The configuration of an individual’s personality is quite unique because trying to uncover what prompts us or inspires us to accumulate the different behaviors and thought processes has yet to be discovered over the past centuries of time. Personality is something an individual can examine in another and determine if they have any similar qualities or traits in common and from there conclusions can be drawn that exhibits compatibility or incompatibility to the given circumstance, situation, or person. Nevertheless, the question that still remains is what determines a personality and enables an individual to have the character and qualities that they may have?

Intelligence can be defined in many different ways. This concept has been the focus of numerous studies and investigations by psychologists and other scientific experts. Intelligence can be the mental ability to reason, plan ahead, understand a wide range of complex issues and learn from past experiences (Gottfredson, 1997). Intelligence is the “resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills” (Humphreys, 1979)

“Intelligence of a person involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings – “catching on,” “making sense” of things, or “figuring out” what to do.” (Makharia et al, 2016, p.1-3)