单选题
Approaches to Understanding Intelligences
It pays to be smart, but we are not all smart in the same way. You may be a talented musician, but you might not be a good reader. Each of us is different.
Psychologists disagree about what is intelligence and what are talents or personal abilities. Psychologists have two different views on intelligence. Some believe there is one general intelligence. Others believe there are many different intelligences.
Some psychologists say there is one type of intelligence that can be measured with IQ tests. These psychologists support their view with research that concludes that people who do well on one kind of test for mental ability do well on other tests. They do well on tests using words, numbers or pictures. They do well on individual or group tests, and written or oral tests. Those who do poorly on one test, do the same on all tests.
Studies of the brain show that there is a biological basis for general intelligence. The brains of intelligence people use less energy during problem solving. The brain waves of people with higher intelligence show a quicker reaction. Some researchers conclude that differences in intelligence result from differences in the speed and effectiveness of information processing by the brain.
Howard Gardner, a psychologist at the Harvard School of Education, has four children. He believes that all children are different and shouldn"t be tested by one intelligence test. Although Gardner believes general intelligence exists, he doesn"t think it tells much about the talents of a person outside of formal schooling. He thinks that the human mind has different intelligences. These intelligences allow us to solve the kinds of problems we are presented with in life. Each of us has different abilities within these intelligences. Gardner believes that the purpose of school should be to encourage development of all of our intelligences.
Gardner says that his theory is based on biology. For example, when one part of the brain is injured, other parts of the brain still work. People who cannot talk because of brain damage can still sing. So, there is not just one intelligence to lose. Gardner has identified 8 different kinds of intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, body-kinesthetic (身体动觉的), and naturalistic.