Intelligence One of the Most

Intelligence

One of the most difficult concepts in education and psychology to define is that of human intelligence. Theories abound as to what constitutes human intelligence and the resulting definitions vary to a great extent. Attempting not only to define the concept but also reasonably measure its components has perplexed all theorists. In an attempt to garner an understanding of the concept of intelligence the focus of this paper will center not only on definition but also on that which is most important for inclusion and that which is not. In doing so the writer will approach the subject from a non-traditional direction by comparing IQ as it is generally thought to be with that of what is known as 'emotional intelligence'. This particular type of comparative approach is gaining popularity in education and psychology as it is not as limiting as the tradition approach, namely that IQ is a singular entity.

Intelligence (IQ) Defined. As all learning can be thought of as a puzzle that is intricately formatted on the basis of one's neurological, physiological, psychological, and sociological parts, and, when blended together, produce a healthy functioning individual. Therefore, before an understanding is garnered as to how learning comes about, or the variables that affect its outcome, one must first understand the concept of intelligence from what is called cognitive intelligence (IQ). Most individuals, professional or lay, have an almost intuitive idea of what constitutes that which we call intelligence. Broadly defined intelligence is an individual's total ability to solve problems. The more complex the problem the more it is thought that the individual possess a higher level of intelligence. Unfortunately, however, most definitions do not differentiate intelligence as general ability or several independent systems. That is to say, is intelligence a resource of the brain, a particular characteristic of learned behavior, or a finely tuned set of skills and content knowledge (Shulsky, 1998), or a combination of all three important factors? Although there is no widely accepted definition of intelligence the most acceptable definition is that of knowledge inclusiveness. What this means is that the amount of information that an individual has retained and applied, as measured by some standardized assessment instrument, is a measure of level of intelligence. Whether or not the test scores from these tests actually reflect an individual's intellectual level has, and will continue, to be the prime target of many present and future debates. In addition the question will always remain as to whether or not the amount of knowledge one has managed to acquire does, indeed, constitute one's level of intelligence (Santrock, 1999).

If one favors the definition that intelligence is the total composite of what has been learned then a necessary requirement for acceptance lies in the "how" the information has been learned as well as the influencing factors that affect the development of intelligence or IQ. Traditional theorists would look at the latter as being the weaker components of intelligence, namely 'emotional intelligence'.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) Defined. Despite the common usage of defining intelligence in terms of numbers there are many psychologists that do not agree with the concept that intelligence is measurable and quantifiable and representative strictly on the basis of cognition. Some theorists believe that intelligence not only includes analytical and problem solving ability but creativity and practical problem solving components as well. In fact there are even some theorists who have totally abandoned the idea of measuring intelligence and purport that intelligence is not measurable visa via a pencil and paper test. These particular theorists believe that ethnicity, cultural heritage, and even religious factors (i.e., Emotional Intelligence factors) have a tremendous influence on that which is commonly called the Intelligence Quotient. More than likely the safest way in which to view intelligence is to consider the concept as one being influenced by dietary factors, physical and mental exercise, emotional states, and a host of other influencing factors. Notwithstanding the developments in the science of cognition and medicine, measuring intelligence is still in an embryonic stage and most definitely open to further investigation (Shulsky, 1993).

Emotional intelligence was first brought to light and defined in the early 1990s (Mayer, DiPaolo, and Salovey, 1990; Salovey and Mayer, 1990). According to these theorists emotional intelligence is one's ability to process emotional information with respect to the assimilation, perception, and management of one's emotions as well as the emotions of others. Salovey and Sluyter (1997) furthered the definition by including four branches to the Mayer model. These branches are as follows: