1

To appear in R.J. Sternberg (2018), The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press

14

My Quest to Understand Human Intelligence

ScottBarryKaufman

Abstract:Thischaptertracesthedevelopmentofmythinkingonthenatureofhumanintelligence,frommyearlychildhoodexperiencesinspecialeducationtomyscientificinvestigationsoftheboundaryconditionsofgeneralcognitiveability,totheformulationofmyDual-ProcessTheoryandTheoryofPersonalIntelligence,tomyencounterwithpositivepsychology.Thischapterisacalltoshifttheperspectiveonintelligencefromanindividual-differencesapproachtoonethatrecognizesthewholeperson.ThegoalofthisapproachistoreducethenumberofchildrenwhofallbetweenthecracksinaneducationalsystemthatfocusessomuchontheresultsofstandardizedtestsandIQtestsasthemeasureofanindividual’sintellectualandcreativepotential.Idiscussthereasonswhyabroader,morepersonalperspectiveonintelligenceisrequiredtohelpallchildrenliveameaningfullife,andargueforgreaterintegrationwiththefieldsofdevelopmentalandpositivepsychology.

Keywords:Intelligence,AssociativeLearning,ImplicitLearning,Imagination,Creativity,PositivePsychology

Itistrulyanhonortocontributetothisvolume.Manyofthecontributorshave

hadasignificantinfluenceonmyinteresttogointothisfieldinthefirstplace.In

thinkingthroughhowtostructurethischapter,Idecideditwouldmakethemost

2

sensetogoinchronologicalorderandbeashonestasIcouldbeaboutthe

developmentofmythinkingonthisfascinatingtopicofhumanintelligence–a

topicthathasconsumedmymindfromasearlyasIcanremember.

The Wonder Years (1979–1998)

Myearlyexperiencesmostcertainlyshapedmythinkingaboutintelligence.By

theageofthree,Ihad21earinfections.Asaresult,IwasdiagnosedwithCentral

AuditoryProcessingDisorder(CAPD),ahearingproblemthatmadeitdifficult

formetoprocessauditoryinputinrealtime.Itwouldtakemeafewextra

millisecondstoprocessnewinformationbecauseIhadtoreplayinmyhead

whatwassaidbeforeIcouldunderstandwhatwasbeingspoken.Irepeated

thirdgrade,andwasplacedinspecialeducation.Iremainedinspecialeducation

untilninthgrade,unquestioningly,despitefeelingIwascapableofmore

intellectualchallenges.EverytimeIaskedtotakemorechallengingcourses,I

wasdenied.Also,eventhoughthelearningdisabilitynolongerposedachallenge

tomylearning,Iwaskeptinspecialeducationbecausetheeducatorsfeltas

thoughIwastooanxious.Ofcourse,IwasanxiousbecauseIwasnotbeing

challenged.Sothiswasaviciouscyclethatdidnothingtoenhancemylearning.

3

Respitecameinninthgrade,whenaspecial-educationteacherwhowas

coveringclassonedaytookmeasideandaskedwhyIwasstillthere.IrealizedI

hadnogoodanswertothatquestion,andalsorealizedIhadbeenwaitingforjust

thismomentwhensomeonewouldbelieveinahigherpotentialforme.Whilemy

parentswerecertainlywellmeaningbywantingtoeaseanyburdenonmein

school,theydidnotchallengetheauthorities.SoIknewIwouldhavetotake

myselfoutofspecialeducation,whichIdid.OnceIwasinregularclasses,I

learnedalotaboutmyself–mystrengthsandweaknesses.Iwasgratefulforthe

opportunitytofullyexplorethedepthsofmybeing.

Whytellthisstory?Perhapsitseemsoutofplaceinsuchanacademic

volume.ButIbelievemypersonalexperience,andtheotherexperiencesIsaw

firsthand,areveryrelevanttothediscussionofthenatureofhumanintelligence.

AsIwentthroughtheseearlyyears,Iverymuchwonderedaboutthenatureof

humanintelligenceandpotential.Iknewthatmyfriendsinspecialeducation

weren’tdisabledjustbecausetheyhadspecificdifficultiesinlearning.I

witnessedthenegativeexpectationsfromteachers,andbecamesurethatsuch

expectationswerebeingsignaledloudandcleartoallofus.

So,longbeforeIstartedtoscientificallyinvestigateintelligence,Ihad

intuitions,basedonpersonalexperiences,thatourdominantparadigmof

intelligencewaspracticallylimitingthepotentialofstudents.Icouldplainlysee

4

itallaroundme.Eventhoseonthe“otherside”–thestudentswhodidwellon

standardizedtestsandreceivedaccoladesfromteachers–yearnedtobevalued

forsomethingmorethantheirtestperformance.Itwouldtakemeawhilebefore

Iwasabletoformulatemythoughtsintoaformalscientifictheory,butamajor

impetusalongthispathwasmyencounterasanundergraduatewithcognitive

psychology.

Introduction to Intelligence Research (1998–2003)

WhileIdidn’tinitiallygetacceptedasapsychologymajoratCarnegieMellon

University,ItransferredintothedepartmentsoonafterIenteredasanopera

major.DuringacourseincognitivepsychologytaughtbyAnneFay,Idiscovered

thescienceofintelligence.Irememberveryclearlythecrystallizingexperience

(Walters&Gardner,1998).

Iwassittingonthesofainmydormreadingthechapteronintelligence

thatwasinthecognitivepsychologytextbookwewereassigned.Iremember

becomingsooverwhelminglyexcitedbythismaterialthatIflippedtotheinside

covertoseewhowrotethebook.Itsaid,“RobertJ.Sternberg,YaleUniversity.”I

madeacommitmentinthatmomentthatoneday,nomatterwhat,Iwouldstudy

5

thescienceofhumanintelligencewithSternberg.Infact,ifyoutoldmy20-year-

oldselfthatIwouldnotonlystudywithSternberg,butIwouldendupcoediting

ahandbookonintelligencewithhim(Sternberg&Kaufman,2011),andevenbe

acontributortothisveryvolumethatisinyourhands,Iwouldhaveprobably

fainted!SowiththehelpofProfessorFay,Ireadvoraciouslyonthetopic,

virtuallyreadingeverysinglebookintheCMUlibraryonthetopicofhuman

intelligence.InadditiontoSternberg’swork,Iwasalsoexposedtotheideasof

HowardGardneronmultipleintelligences,andEllenWinner’sworkongifted

children.IalsotookHerbertSimon’sgraduatecourseoncognitionandlearned

abouttheroleofexpertiseinskilldevelopment.

Nevertheless,IknewthatifIeverweretogobeyondthetraditionalview

ofintelligence,Iwouldhavetogointothelion’sdenandlearnasmuchasIcould

aboutIQ.SoIreachedouttoUniversityofCambridgeprofessorNicholasJ.

Mackintosh,authorofIQandHumanIntelligence(Mackintosh,2011).Tomy

greatsurpriseandexcitement,heacceptedmeasaninternforasemesterstudy

abroad.SoItookasemesteroffofCMU,andattemptedtolearnasmuchasI

couldaboutIQfromoneofthemostsensibleandthoughtfulscientistsinthe

field.ItwastobethestartofafascinatingjourneytounderstandthenatureofIQ

anditsboundaryconditions.

6

Dual-Process Theory of Human Intelligence (2003–2009)

AfterinterningforbothRobertJ.SternbergandNicholasJ.Mackintoshasan

undergraduate,Iwasacceptedtocontinuemystudieswithbothofthem–

SternbergatYaleformyPhD,andMackintoshatCambridgeformyM.Philunder

aGatesCambridgeScholarship.Onceembarkingonthisadventure,Imadetwo

commitmentstomyself:(1)Iwouldkeepmypersonalstoryasecret,fearfulthat

Iwouldbeperceivedasnotobjectiveinmyscience,and(2)Iwouldtakemyown

personalfeelingsoutoftheequation,andworkashardaspossibletounderstand

humanintelligence,regardlessofwherethesearchled.

OneofthefirstquestionsIhadwaswhetherthefieldwasmissingany

lower-orderfactors.Afterall,Carroll(1993)didsuchawonderfuljobcataloging

themanysubcomponentsofgeneralintelligence(g).Butwerewemissing

anything?

ThroughworkingwithMackintosh,Iwasexposedtohisseminalworkon

associativelearning(Mackintosh,1974).Whilemorerudimentaryformsof

associativelearningwereincludedinCarroll’smodel,MackintoshandIwere

interestedinlookingattheuniquecontributionofmoresophisticatedformsof

associativelearning,suchastheformsthatMackintoshandhiscolleagueshad

7

investigatedinotheranimals.Evolutionhasendowedanimals(including

humans!)withquitesophisticatedmentalstructuresforassociativelearning.

Soweadoptedthethree-termcontingencylearningtaskfromWilliams

andPearlberg(2006),which,overthecourseoffourlearningblocks,requires

participantstolearnwordassociationsthatarecontingentonaparticularkey

press.Forexample,onetrialtheword“LAB”mightbeshownwiththeletters“A,”

“B,”and“C”shownunderneath.Whenparticipantsselectedoneletter(e.g.,“A”),

theywouldseeoneassociation(e.g.,PUN),whentheyselectedanotherletter

(e.g.,“B”),theywouldseeasecondassociation(e.g.,“TRY”),andsoon.During

thetestblocks,participantswererequiredtotypeintheoutcomeword

correspondingtoaparticularstimulus-responsepair.

Wefoundthatthismorecomplexformofassociativelearningshowed

strongercorrelationswithgthanpaired-associateslearning,aformof

associativelearningnotdependentoncontingencies(Kaufmanetal.,2009).

What’smore,anoverarchingassociativelearningfactorpredictedgaboveand

beyondtheeffectsoftwootherwell-knowncontributorstog:workingmemory

andprocessingspeed.Weconcludedthatthesefindingsaddedtoagrowing

literatureontheexistenceofmultiplecognitivemechanismssupportingg(see

Conway&Kovacs,Chapter4,thisvolume),andthattheabilitytoexplicitlylearn

complexassociationsbetweenstimuliwasoneofthoseimportantmechanisms.

8

Wasthatit?Werethereotherformsofassociativelearningthatmadea

contributiontointelligence?AsIcontinuedtostudywithMackintosh,Ibecame

fascinatedwithaformoflearningcalledimplicitlearning,whichinvolvesthe

learningofinformationwithoutconsciousintentorawarenessofwhathasbeen

learned(Stadler&Frensch,1997).Whatfascinatedmesomuchaboutthisform

oflearningisthatitseemedtobeindependentofgeneralintelligence(Gebauer&

Mackintosh,2007;Reber,Walkenfeld,&Hernstadt,1991).Thiswasquite

remarkabletomesinceinmyreadingoftheintelligenceliteratureitseemedthat

everyformofcognitionunderthesunloadedontog.

SowhenIreturnedtoYaletocompletemyPhD,Iroundedupasmany

implicitlearningtasksasIcouldfromthecognitivescienceliterature,and

adaptedthemfortheindividual-differencesparadigm.Withtheassistanceof

LuisJiménez,aleadingresearcheronattentionandimplicitlearning,wefound

thattheabilitytoimplicitlydetectcomplexandnoisyregularitiesinthe

environment(bylearningcomplexprobabilitiesinasequence)showedaweak

correlationwithg(Kaufmanetal.,2010).Nevertheless,individualdifferencesin

implicitlearningindependentlypredictedverbalanalogicalreasoning,

processingspeed,andacademicperformanceontwoforeign-languageexams.

What’smore,implicit-learningabilitywascorrelatedwithself-reported

9

intuition,opennesstoexperience,andimpulsivity–threevariablesthathave

alsobeenlinkedtoincreasedcreativity(seeKaufman&Gregoire,2015).

Thesefindingsexcitedmegreatly,becauseitsuggestedaboundary

conditionforg:implicitcognition.Forme,thisopenedupawholenewuniverse

ofinvestigationfromanindividual-differencesperspective(Kaufman,2011)!

Thefieldofhumanintelligencehadbeensofocusedontheabilitytoexplicitly

learn,butwhatabouttheabilitytoimplicitlylearn?Thesefindingsdovetailed

nicelywithextantdual-processtheoriesofcognition,whichpositedtwoformsof

informationprocessing:aslowermodethatwasmoredependentonworking

memory,andafastermodethatwasrelativelyindependentfromexecutive

functioning,butneverthelessquitecognitivelycomplex(seeKaufman,2011,for

areview).

However,despitethevariousdual-processtheoriesofcognitionthat

existed,therewasn’texplicitlyadual-processtheoryofhumanintelligence.

What’smore,thedual-processtheoriesthatexistedtendedtodevaluethe

importanceoftheimplicitroute.Rationalityandexplicitreasoningwereheldup

asthemostimportantcontributortoadaptivecognition.Notonlywastheresuch

apreponderantfocusonthefoiblesofimplicitcognition,butindividual

differencesinimplicitcognitionwerethoughttobeminimalandunimportant.

10

SoIwasinspiredtoproposetheDual-ProcessTheoryofHuman

Intelligenceformydoctoraldissertation(Kaufman,2009)thatattemptedto

overcometheselimitations.Arguingthatallhumanintelligentbehaviorsarethe

resultofamixofbothgoal-directedandspontaneouscognitiveprocesses(in

varyingdegreesdependingonthetask),Iarguedthatthereareadaptive

individualdifferencesalongbothdimensions.What’smore,Iarguedthatneither

modeofinformationprocessingismoreuniversally“intelligent”thananyother,

butthatintelligenceisbetterthoughtofastheabilitytoflexiblyswitchmodeof

thoughtdependingonthesituation.Finally,andforetellingtheworkthatwould

yettocome,Iarguedthatthereareavarietyofpathstothesameintelligent

behavior,withdifferentpeopledrawingonadifferentmixofcognitivetraitsto

reachthesameintelligentoutcome.

Inadditiontomydissertationdata,IalsodrewonothercollaborationsI

washavingatthetime(e.g.,Brownetal.2010,Pretzetal.,2010).Forexample,

JaimieBrownandIfoundthattheabilitytoimplicitlylearnavarietyof

informationwasnotimpairedinthosewithautism-spectrumconditions,and

thiswasnotaconsequenceofcompensationbyexplicit-learningabilityorIQ.A

majorimplicationofthisfindingwasthatasolefocusonexplicitcognitionwould

underestimatetheintellectualcapabilitiesofthispopulation,and,Isuspected,

manyotherpopulationsaswell.

11

Coming out Ungifted and the Theory of Personal Intelligence (2009–2013)

AfterIcompletedmyPhD,ImovedtoNewYorkCity.Whiletheacademicjourney

Ihadbeenontounderstandintelligencewasenriching,Iultimatelywasleft

unsatisfied.Icertainlyhadlearnedalotaboutthenatureofhumanintelligence,

buthowwasitactuallyhelpingchildren?Whataboutallofthoseclassmatesof

minewhoclearlyhadsomuchpotential:howwouldknowingthestructureofg

impacttheirlivesinanyconcreteway?Iwasreadytogobeyondthescienceof

thestructureandcorrelatesofcognitiveabilityandcontemplatetheimplications

forcreatinganeducationsystemthatgivesopportunitiesforeveryoneto

intellectuallyandcreativelyflourish.

Somethingthatbecameclearisthatpsychologists–whetherwelikeitor

not–havearealimpactonthelivesofchildren,howeverindirectthateffectmay

seem.Forinstance,schoolpsychologistsintraininglearnaboutthelatestIQ

tests,andaretaughthowtousethatinformationtoinformacustom-tailored

interventionforthechild.Conceptualizationsofintelligencecomingfrom

scientistsdotrickledowntothestudentsviatheeducators.Asmuchasscientists

maywishtooperateinavacuumanddo“purescience,”thestakesaretoohigh

whenitcomestothestudyofhumanintelligence.Thescientists’

12

conceptualizationofwhatintelligencemeans,howitismeasured,andwhatit

foretellsaboutaperson’sfutureprospectsinlifeisoftentakenatfacevalueby

educatorsintraining,whomakehigh-stakesdecisionsonadailybasisabout

whatachildisandisnotcapableofachievinginlife.SoIwantedtoreallythink

throughhowallofthelatestresearchonhumanintelligence,talent,creativity,

andpotentialcouldinformaneducationsystemthatbringsoutthebestinall

children.

Tomydelight,GilesAnderson–aliteraryagentinNewYorkCity–was

interestedinhavingmedevelopmyideasaboutintelligenceintoabook.Thus

begantheperiodofwritingUngifted:IntelligenceDefined.Inthisbook,Idecided

to“comeout”asungifted,andrevealmypersonalstory,inthehopesthatit

wouldinspireotherstoovercometheirownlearningdifficulties.Weavingmy

personalstorywiththelatestscienceofIQtesting,generalintelligence,talent,

andcreativity,IproposedtheTheoryofPersonalIntelligence,whichwas

informedbymyDual-ProcessTheory,butwentbeyonditsoitcouldhavemore

ofadirectimpactonthereallivesofchildren.

Surveying13widelyuseddefinitionsofintelligence,Inoticedaserious

mismatchbetweenconceptualizationsofintelligenceintheliteratureandits

operationalization.Onecommonthemeacrossvariousdefinitionsofintelligence

wasadaptationtotheenvironment:notjustdealingwiththeschool

13

environment,butalsothecapacityforflexibility,resiliency,tenacity,motivation,

andcopingstrategiesfordealingwiththeinevitabledailystressorsand

unknownsoflife.TheseskillsclearlygobeyondwhatismeasuredonanIQtest,

orwhatcouldpossiblyeverbecapturedbyasinglesnapshotofintelligence.

Indeed,DavidWechsler,creatorofoneofthemostwidelyused

intelligencetests,theWechslerAdultIntelligenceScaleandtheWechsler

IntelligenceScaleforChildren,explicitlynoted:

Oneneednotbeafraidorashamedtoacknowledge

impulse,instinct,andtemperamentasbasicfactorsingeneral

intelligence.Mypointhasalwaysbeenthatgeneralintelligence

cannotbeequatedwithintellectualability,butmustberegarded

asamanifestationofthepersonalityasawhole.

Similarly,RichardSnowmadeacalltotakeintoaccountabroaderrange

ofpersonalcharacteristics(orasheputit,“aptitudes”),andtoconceptualize

potentialas“degreeofreadiness”toperforminaparticularsituationordomain.

Critically,hebelievedintheimportanceofmultiplepathstothesameoutcome,

andhelpingstudentsfigureoutforthemselvesthebestpathtodeveloptheir

expertisegiventheiruniquesetofaptitudes.Inhis1980paper“Intelligencefor

theYear2001,”Snowwrites:

14

Itisnotunreasonabletohypothesizethatbothconativeand

affectiveaspectsofpersonsandsituationsinfluencethedetailsof

cognitiveprocessing…Atheoreticalaccountofintelligent

behaviorintherealworldrequiresasynthesisofcognition,

conationandaffect.Wehavenotreallybeguntoenvisionthis

synthesis.

Certainly,mygoalwasnevertolambasteIQtests.AsIrecognizedinthe

book,IQtestscanbeusefulforscientificallyinvestigatingthemindandbrain.

What’smore,byadoptinganintelligenttestingapproach(seeA.S.Kaufman,

1979;A.S.Kaufman,Raiford,&Coalson,2016),thepatternofstrengthsand

weaknessesidentifiedbyacomprehensiveIQtestbatterycanusefullyinform

educationalinterventions.SoIfullyacknowledgedtheexistenceofgeneral

cognitiveability.Butfromareal,practicalperspective,Ifelttheneedtopropose

amuchmorepersonalformofintelligence,whichIreferredtoasPersonal

Intelligenceanddefinedas“thedynamicinterplayofengagementandabilitiesin

pursuitofpersonalgoals.”

IarguedthatthisformofpersonalintelligenceisnotwellcapturedbyIQ

tests,foranumberofreasons.Forone,IQtestsaresoreliantonworking

memory,andthesetestswillunder-predicttheintellectualpotentialofmany

childrenwithdifferentkindsofminds(e.g.,childrenwithdyslexia,autism,etc.)

15

whomayhaveworkingmemorydeficits,butstillhaveimmensecapabilityand

drivetomastertherulesofadomain(formydefinitionoftalent,seeKaufman,

2013b).Second,engagementandskilldevelopmentfeedoffeachother.Engaging

inanIQsessionisnotaninherentlymotivatingtaskformostpeople!However,I

reviewedexamplesthroughoutthebookofwhatpeoplearecapableofachieving

oncetheyarefullyengagedinsomethingthattheyhaveaninclinationforand

arepassionateabout.Abilityandengagementdynamicallyshapeeachotherover

time.I’dliketoemphasizethatlastpoint:intelligencedevelopsovertime,ina

particularcontext(seeCeci,1996;Sternberg&Grigorenko,2001;Vygotsky,

1978).WhileIQtestsmaybeabletoreliablymeasureabstractreasoningability

andworkingmemory,let’snotunderestimatewhatapersoniscapableof

accomplishingintellectuallyorcreativelygivenalongperiodofactive

engagement.Therearemanycasesofchildrenwithlearningdisabilitieswho

havebeenwrittenoff,onlytofarsurpassexpectationsonceengagedina

particularareaofinterest.

Toachievethisperspectiveonintelligence,Ifounditnecessarytoshift

fromtheindividual-differencesleveltothepersonallevel.Iwasparticularly

inspiredbytheworkofdevelopmentalpsychologistswhoaredeveloping

excitingnewtechniquestostudyvariationwithintheperson(e.g.,Blair&

Diamond,2008;Kaufman&Duckworth,2015;Molenaaretal.,2004,2009;

16

Sternberg&Grigorenko,2001).Insteadofselectingafewfixedtimepoints,a

selectrangeofcognitiveskills,andaggregatingtheresultsacrosssubjects,the

new“person-specificparadigm”focusesonasingleperson,selectsarangeof

timepoints,andconsidersthetrajectoryofadynamicsystemofcognitive,

emotional,andpersonalityprocessesastheyunfoldovertime.

It’sbecomingclearthatnotallresultsfromtheindividualdifferences

paradigmnecessarilyapplyattheperson-specificlevel(seeMolenaar,2009).

Whenweselectasinglevariable(e.g.,IQ)andcomparepeopleonthatvariable,

wecanrankrelativedifferencesinperformance.Butwithinaperson,anysingle

variableisinseparablefromtherestofthesystem.Youcan’tjuststripout

reasoningabilityfromasingleindividual,astheirreasoningperformanceis

undoubtedlyaffectedbyawholehostofvariables,includingmotivation,history

ofexpectationsfromteachersandparents,andlevelsofanxiety.

Therefore,consistentwithalonglineofthinkersonthedevelopmentof

intelligence(e.g.,Snow,1980;Sternberg&Grigorenko,2001;Vygotsky,1978),I

preferredtothinkofpotentialasreadinessforengagement.Soinsteadofany

singletestscorerepresentingaperson’slifelongpotential,itismerelyviewedas

aperson’sreadinesstohandlemoreenrichedresourcesatthatparticulartime

(Vygotsky,1978).Inthisview,potentialisamovingtargetdependentona

varietyoffactors,includingengagement.Therefore,whenweapplyarbitrary

17

thresholdswithouttakingintoaccountpersonalgoals,engagement,andother

within-personvariables,welimitpossibility.TheTheoryofPersonalIntelligence

isacalltobeopentotheincredibletransformationspeoplecanundergowhen

theyareallowedtoengageinadomainthatisalignedwiththeirself-identity.

Afterall,creativityresearcherE.PaulTorrancefoundthataloveforthedomain

wasthesinglebestpredictoroflifelongcreativeachievement–bothsocietaland

personal–longaftertheeffectsofIQanddivergentthinkingfadedaway(e.g.,

Torrance,1983).

Ofcourse,theTheoryofPersonalIntelligencewasinfluencedbymany

differentperspectives,andIreallyviewitasasynthesisratherthanacompletely

newtheory.AccordingtoSternberg(1997,2011),successfulintelligenceis

definedastheabilitytoachieveone’sgoalsinlife(intermsofone’sown

personalstandards),withinone’ssocioculturalcontext,bycapitalizingon

strengthsandcorrectingorcompensatingforweaknesses,inordertoadaptto,

shape,andselectenvironments,throughacombinationofanalytical,creative,

andpracticalabilities.ManyelementsofthistheoryhaveinspiredtheTheoryof

PersonalIntelligence,includingthepersonaldefinitionofsuccess,the

importanceofcontextandbuildingonstrengths,andtheinclusionofabilities

thatgobeyondIQ.TheTheoryofPersonalIntelligencegoesbeyondability,

however,includingengagement,characterstrengths,andother“noncognitive”

18

traitsinthemodel(Heckman,2000;Peterson&Seligman,1994).Additionally,

theTheoryofPersonalIntelligenceisalsomoreexplicitlyadevelopmentalmodel

ofintelligence.Likewise,whileGardner’s(1983,1999)theoryofmultiple

intelligencesexpandstherepertoireofabilitiesthatfallwithinthedomainof

intelligence,thetheorydoesn’thighlightthedeeplyintertwinednatureof

engagementandabilityduringthecourseofintellectualandcreative

development.

Withinthesocialdomain,Gardner’s(1983)intrapersonaland

interpersonalintelligence,KihlstromandCantor’s(2011)socialintelligence,

MayerandSalovey’s(1993)emotionalintelligence,andMayer’s(2008)personal

intelligenceallcertainlyelucidatethenatureofthecapacitiesforunderstanding

andadaptivelyemployingemotion,socialcognition,andone’sownpersonality.

Eventhoughmytheorysharesasimilarname(andinonecase,isthesameexact

name,whichwasapurecoincidence!),myTheoryofPersonalIntelligencehasa

broaderfocus,consideringthewholepersonasadynamicsystemasheorshe

workstowardreachingpersonalgoalsandadaptingtoinevitablesetbacksalong

theway.Socialandemotionalprocessescertainlyplayarole,buttheyareonly

partofawholesuiteoftraitsthatareuniquetoeachindividual,andthatcanbe

mixedandmatchedinuniquewaystodevelopone’sownuniquestyleof

adaptiveintellectualandcreativefunctioning.

19

ThisbroaderfocusoftheTheoryofPersonalIntelligencereallyresonated

withteachersandparents,especiallythosewhoworkwithkidsonthemargins

(e.g.,childrenwithlearningdifficulties,childreningiftedandtalentedprograms,

andeventhosestudentswhosimultaneouslyhavelearningdifficultiesand

qualifyforgiftedandtalentededucation).Iwaspleasedtomakesomesortof

practicalimpact.Evenwithintheacademicworld,however,Iwaspleasedtoread

EarlHunt’spositivereviewofUngiftedinthejournalIntelligence(Hunt,2013).

Nevertheless,IstillfeltasthoughIhadpartiallyleftaworldofacademic

scientificinquirythathadoncecaptivatedmesomuch.

Asitwouldsohappen,Iwouldenterawholenewworldofscientific

inquirythatalignedverymuchwithmythinkingaboutintelligence:positive

psychology.

Positive Psychology, Imagination and Character (2014–2017)

WhenMartinSeligman,oneofthefoundersofthefieldofpositivepsychology,

askedmeifIwouldbeinterestedinmovingtoPhiladelphiaandbecoming

scientificdirectoroftheImaginationInstitute,ofcourseIsaidyes!Seligmanand

hisgraduatestudentMarieForgeard(whoisnowapostdocatMcLeanHospital)

20

hadreceivedalargegrantfromtheTempletonFoundationtoadvancethe

measurementanddevelopmentofimaginationacrossallsectorsofsociety.

About$3millionwenttowardagrantscompetition,inwhichweselected16

researchprojectsaimedatthedevelopmentofbetterwaysofassessingand

developingimaginationandcreativity.Therestofthegrantwenttowardaseries

of“ImaginationRetreats,”whichconsistedofafewdaysofdiscussionwithsome

oftheworld’smostimaginativethinkersacrossawiderangeoffields–from

psychologytocomedytophysicstospiritualty–abouthowimaginationoperates

withintheirspecificdomains,andhowwecancultivatethatformofimagination

inyoungpeopleinthefield.

Atthetimeofthiswriting,thefindingsfromalloftheseendeavorsare

stillcomingin,butsomeresearchI’veconductedoncreativitymadecleartome

theimportanceofgoingbeyondabstractcognitiveability,tootheraspectsofthe

person’scognitionandpersonalitythatmayleadtohighaccomplishmentand

fulfillment.Forinstance,inaseriesofpapers,Ishowedthatnotonlycan

intellectualcuriosity,thedriveforimaginativethinking,andappreciationof

beautypredictcreativeachievementaboveandbeyondtheg-factor,butthese

aspectsofpersonalityareevenabetterpredictorofcreativeachievementthan

knowingone’srankingontheg-factor(seeKaufman,2013a;Kaufmanetal.,

2015).

21

Similarly,inaseriesofneurosciencestudiesledbyRogerBeaty,wefound

thatthesepersonalitydrives–whichformthepersonalitydomain“opennessto

experience”–areassociatedwiththestructureofthe“defaultmodenetwork”

(Beatyetal.,2015a).Thisisinterestingconsideringthatthisisnotthenetwork

thathasreceivedthemostattentionintheintelligencefield:theexecutive

attentionnetwork(e.g.,Barbeyetal.,2012,seeConway&Kovacs,Chapter4,this

volume).Tobesure,executiveattentionisimportant,anddoessignificantly

influenceperformanceonIQtests,butthisresearchsuggeststhatIQtestsare

missingoutonsomereallyimportanceslicesofhumancognition,namely,

curiosityandimagination.

Indeed,inanotherstudy,wefoundthatdivergent-thinkingability–the

abilitytogenerateanumberofdifferentsolutionstoaproblem–involvedthe

interactionofboththeexecutiveattentionnetworkandthedefaultmode

network(Beatyetal.,2015b).IQtestsaremoreknowntotapintoconvergent

thinkingthandivergentthinking(seeGuilford,1967).Butlife,andtheabilityto

adapttoanever-changingenvironment(whichhasbeenacommondefinitionof

intelligencebythetestconstructorsthemselves),requiresmuchmorethan

convergentthinking.

However,it’snotjustthatIQtestsmissoutondivergentthinking.Inmy

view,thesefindingssuggestthatIQtestsmissoutontheveryheartofhuman

22

existence(seeMaslow,1968;May,Angel,&Ellenberger,1958).Thecognitive

processesthathavebeenassociatedwiththedefaultmodenetworkinrecent

years–suchasdaydreaming,mentalsimulation,personalfutureplanning,

reflectivecompassion,andtheconstructionofoursenseofself(seeGottliebet

al.,2016)–aretheprocessesthatmakeusuniqueinthisworld.

ThroughmytimeatthePositivePsychologyCenterattheUniversityof

Pennsylvania,Ilearnedalotaboutthefieldofpositivepsychologyandrealized

howmuchitdovetailedwiththestrengths-basedapproachtointelligencethat

resonatedsostronglywithme(alsoseeSternberg,1997).However,stepping

intotheworldofpositivepsychologyfeltlikesteppingintoadifferentuniverse

thanthetraditionalfieldofhumanintelligence.Insteadofscholarsintensely

debatingwhichmodelofcognitiveabilitywasthebestfittothedata,

psychologistswereintenselydebatingwhichmodelofthegoodlifewasthebest

fittothedata.

Keepingmyintelligencehatfrommypriorlifecloselybythebedside

table,Icouldseehowthekindofconstructsstudiedinpositivepsychology–for

example,positiveemotions,lifesatisfaction,engagement,purpose,meaning,

relationships,character,andachievement–fitintotherealmofhuman

intelligence.AsWechslerhimselfargued,generalintelligenceisbroaderthan

sheerintellectualability,butinvolvesthewholeperson.Indeed,thisideawasa

23

majorimpetusfortheproposaloftheTheoryofPersonalIntelligence.Icertainly

couldhaveattemptedtoredefinegeneralintelligence,butIthoughtthatwould

beahardersell.Theterm“generalintelligence”isusedsosynonymouslywith

theg-factor(thecommonvarianceacrossadiversebatteryoftestsofcognitive

ability)thatitwouldbequitetheuphillbattletotellanentirefield–whichhas

beenusingaparticularterminaparticularwayformorethan100years(e.g.,

Spearman,1904)–tojustthinkaboutthetermdifferently.

Instead,Idecidedtoadoptadifferentstrategy.Ihaveimmenserespect

forthehard-workingandrigorousscientistswhohaveadvancedourknowledge

ofthestructureofcognitiveability.Ireallydothinkthatlineofresearchcanexist

peacefullyalongsideadifferentprogramofintelligenceresearch,onethatisno

lessimportant.Thislineofresearch,whichisthedirectionI’vebeenmoving

toward,conceptualizesandoperationalizesintelligenceinthewayinwhichit

hasactuallybeendefinedoverthepastcentury,asadaptationtothe

environment.However,Igofurtheranddefine(personal)intelligenceasthe

abilitytoadapttotheenvironmentinpursuitofpersonalgoals.

WhatIwanttodoisputthewholepersonbackintotheintelligence

picture.Fortoolong,intelligenceresearchershavefocusedonabstracton-the-

spotreasoningdivorcedfromtheuniquepersonaljourneyoftheindividual.

Whileimportant,thisworkhasnotbeenfullyintegratedwiththeemerging

24

literatureonwhatitmeanstoliveafulllifeofpurpose,passion,meaning,and

fulfillment.Itismybeliefthatanewscienceofintelligencethatexplicitlyaimsto

helpindividualsachievetheirownpersonalgoalsmustintegratethelatest

findingsacrossthesevariousfieldstocometoamorecompletepictureofwhatit

meanstobeanintelligenthumanbeing.

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