Is your learning style understood by traditional teaching methods? How can knowing your intelligence profile improve your personal and professional life?
In his book Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner writes that humans possess seven distinct types of intelligence, each functioning independently. Gardner’s seven intelligences represent a framework that challenges the conventional understanding of human cognitive abilities.
Read on to explore these intelligence types, how they develop, and what your intelligence profile reveals about your unique strengths and learning style.
Your Intelligence Profile
In his book, developmental psychologist Howard Gardner proposes that humans have numerous types of intelligence, and each intelligence functions independently of the others. We’ll cover each of the seven types of intelligence Gardner discusses and provide an exercise to help you make the most of your own intelligence profile.
(Shortform note: While we discuss Gardner’s seven intelligences that he wrote about in Frames of Mind in 1983, it’s possible that other types of intelligence exist. In fact, Gardner himself later identified naturalistic intelligence—the ability to identify and work with natural things such as plants, animals, rocks, and weather patterns—and added it to his theory.)
#1: Linguistic Intelligence
The first intelligence that Gardner discusses is linguistic intelligence. Its core function is enabling you to understand the meanings behind words and to use language to convey your own ideas. Linguistic information is encoded in letters and words, which can be either spoken or written.
Skilled writers epitomize this type of intelligence, and particularly impressive writers such as William Shakespeare can be considered linguistic geniuses. Their work doesn’t just involve picking words with the correct meanings—they must also keep a consistent tone and style within each piece, ensure that metaphors both make sense and evoke the intended feelings, and (ideally) write in a way that holds the reader’s attention without becoming boring or repetitive. All of these are challenging problems that require a high level of linguistic skill to solve.
Linguistic intelligence also has a clear pattern of development through a person’s early childhood, which fulfills another of Gardner’s criteria. He explains that linguistic intelligence starts developing in infancy: Language skills begin with unintelligible babbling, then generally progress to single words around age one, to simple phrases at age two or three, and then to complex sentences by four or five years old. Development slows significantly after age five, and often depends largely on how caregivers or teachers encourage and guide the child’s language skills.
Finally, brain structure and function play crucial roles in linguistic intelligence. Gardner says that language processing is typically localized in the left hemisphere (half) of the brain. He also notes that injuries to that area can result in various types of language impairment, which fulfills another of his criteria for intelligence. For instance, some head injuries affecting the left side of the brain cause aphasia, which is the inability to recall certain words or to use them correctly while speaking.
#2: Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
The second intelligence Gardner discusses is logical-mathematical intelligence. Its core functions allow you to recognize patterns, follow lines of reasoning, and make connections between abstract concepts. This type of information is encoded in numbers, mathematical operations, logic symbols, and so on.
Mathematicians and scientists heavily rely on this type of intelligence in their work, albeit in different ways. Mathematicians are often driven by a desire to find patterns and create abstract systems using numbers; scientists, on the other hand, seek to understand physical reality through study and experimentation. Some such people—such as Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking—are commonly considered geniuses.
Gardner says that, like linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence has a clear path of development that begins in infancy.
At less than a year old, children start to understand simple cause-and-effect patterns and to make comparisons (such as recognizing that one object is larger than another). They begin learning to count between one and two years old, generally by counting physical items they can see and touch. By age six or seven, children can perform simple abstract reasoning and work with hypothetical scenarios—for instance, “If I have two apples, then add one more, how many apples do I have?”
Gardner admits that it’s difficult to say exactly which parts of the brain give rise to this intelligence. While certain brain areas, particularly in the left hemisphere, seem important for numerical and logical operations, logical-mathematical abilities may be distributed throughout the brain. This makes logical-mathematical abilities more vulnerable to general cognitive decline (that is, dementia), but more resilient in the face of localized brain damage.
#3: Musical Intelligence
The next form of intelligence Gardner describes is musical intelligence. Its core functions enable you to recognize musical qualities such as pitch and rhythm. It also allows you to reproduce music you’ve heard (for example, by singing along to your favorite song) and create your own music—even something as simple as drumming your hands on a table is an expression of musical intelligence. This type of intelligence is encoded in musical symbols such as staffs, clefs, and notes.
Naturally, musicians make frequent use of musical intelligence to write and perform their songs. Exceptional musicians such as Ludwig von Beethoven and Freddie Mercury are often considered to be “musical geniuses.”
The development of musical intelligence follows a distinct pattern, beginning with infant babbling and singing. Children start producing distinct musical patterns and fragments of familiar songs as early as two years old. However, Gardner notes that musical intelligence often plateaus in early childhood unless caregivers encourage and guide its growth.
Finally, Gardner contends that musical ability is largely associated with parts of the right hemisphere of the brain. This is one of the most important points in favor of musical skill being its own intelligence, rather than an offshoot of linguistic intelligence—which is localized in the left hemisphere—or logical-mathematical intelligence, which is distributed across both hemispheres.
He adds that there have been cases of brain-damaged individuals who lose their musical skills, while their language and mathematical skills remain intact (or vice-versa). There are also “savants” who have extraordinary musical talent, despite being developmentally disabled in other ways. This reinforces the idea that musical intelligence is a distinct phenomenon, separate from all other forms of intelligence.
#4: Spatial Intelligence
The first of the physical intelligences is spatial intelligence. Its core functions allow you to recognize shapes and manipulate them in your mind (for instance, when you imagine rotating a couch to figure out if it will fit through a doorway), and to navigate your surroundings.
Unlike conceptual intelligences, spatial intelligence doesn’t have a specific language or set of symbols associated with it. However, any representation of shapes and forms—from a child’s drawing to a complex blueprint or schematic—could be considered a way of recording and sharing spatial information.
Gardner points to visual artists (painters, animators, and so on) as an example of people who largely rely on spatial intelligence for their work: In order to create a work of art, the artist must first be able to picture it in detail—all of the shapes and forms the piece will consist of, and how they’re arranged in relation to each other. The artist must then be able to reproduce that mental image using whatever medium they work with.
Furthermore, people who are exceptionally skilled in the visual arts—such as the Renaissance-era sculptor Michelangelo—are often called artistic geniuses. This highlights that such people have exceptionally high levels of spatial intelligence.
Gardner says that the development of spatial intelligence follows a distinct trajectory through childhood. Initially, infants explore their environment through simple actions such as crawling, observing, and touching objects. By age three or four, children develop the ability to form accurate mental images. After that, they can learn to manipulate those images mentally, without the need to physically move or change the objects. For example, a roughly five-year-old child playing with building blocks may be able to first picture what they want to build, then accurately reproduce that image using the actual blocks.
Finally, spatial intelligence is associated with specific areas of the brain, particularly the back regions of the right hemisphere. Researchers have found that a person’s spatial reasoning can be impaired by brain damage to those areas, while their other cognitive abilities remain intact. Likewise, people in cognitive decline often retain fundamental spatial skills—such as their ability to recognize objects and move through their environment—even as they lose other faculties.
#5: Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
Next, Gardner discusses bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. The core function of this intelligence is to control your body’s movements. This includes handling objects.
While this form of intelligence doesn’t seem intellectual, it actually involves sophisticated cognitive processes and problem-solving abilities. Even the simple act of picking up a spoon requires many calculations: How far does your hand need to move to reach the spoon? How will you position your fingers to hold it? How much pressure will you apply?
As with spatial intelligence, there is no particular set of symbols associated with bodily-kinesthetic information, but Gardner says that movements themselves often take the place of such symbols. For example, someone teaching a skill or technique will often demonstrate it so that the learner can copy their movements—therefore, those motions are the method by which that bodily-kinesethic information is shared.
Almost everyone relies on bodily-kinesthetic intelligence in their daily lives, but some people have exceptional control over their bodies, and Gardner argues that such people are bodily-kinesthetic geniuses. Examples include all-star athletes such as basketball player Kobe Bryant and world-class martial artists such as Bruce Lee.
Finally, Gardner explains that, while many parts of the brain and nervous system must coordinate to make your body move, certain areas such as the frontal lobe and the cerebellum play particularly important roles in bodily-kinesthetic abilities. Damage to those areas can lead to impairments in motor skills without impairing other cognitive functions. Apraxia (the inability to make certain movements) is one example of this kind of impairment. This supports the idea that bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is a distinct form of intelligence.
#6 & #7: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Intelligences
Intrapersonal intelligence is your capacity to understand yourself, and to recognize and process your own feelings, motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. If you have high intrapersonal intelligence, you tend to be self-reflective, show strong metacognition (awareness of your own thought processes), and effectively manage your emotional states.
Interpersonal intelligence, on the other hand, is your ability to understand and interact effectively with others. This includes being able to recognize others’ moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions, as well as knowing how to respond in various social situations.
Personal intelligences start developing in infancy through the bond between infant and caregiver. Gardner says that this early attachment provides the foundation for both self-awareness and awareness of others.
During the first years of life, children learn to recognize their own emotions and to differentiate between themselves and others. By two years old they have enough self-awareness to recognize themselves in the mirror. Between ages two and five they develop the ability to represent themselves and others through language and play—for instance, a child who says, “I’ll be Batman, and you’ll be the bad guy,” is showing awareness not only of themselves and their playmate, but of other (fictional) people as well. From there, specific intra- and interpersonal skills develop on a largely individual basis. Finally, Gardner says that the personal intelligences are associated with the frontal lobes of the brain. Studies have shown that damage to these areas can severely impact someone’s personality and social behavior, but leave their other abilities intact.
Exercise: Build Your Intelligence Profile
Now that you’re familiar with Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, take some time to think about your own intelligences: what kinds of skills come naturally to you, and which you struggle with. Then, based on that intelligence profile, consider what skills or knowledge you should focus on learning.
- Choose two or three intelligences that, in your own opinion, you embody most strongly. For instance, if you’re good with words, you probably embody linguistic intelligence; if you’re a talented athlete, you most likely have a high degree of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
- In your own estimation, which intelligence are you the weakest in? In other words, what kind of skills do you tend to struggle the most with?
- Keeping in mind the intellectual profile that you just created for yourself, what’s one skill that you’d like to improve? (This could be something that plays to your strengths, or a skill that will help you work on your weaknesses.) List one to three ways you can improve this skill.
