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DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE |
Generally, boys perform better at math than girls, especially in certain spatial tasks. In particular, boys can imagine rotating an object in space with more proficiency than can girls. Their enhanced mathematical skills also allow them to navigate their way through a route with greater ease and exhibit more accuracy when guiding or intercepting projectiles (Kimura 33-34). |
Girls, on the other hand, generally are better at verbal skills and recall. They perform better on tests of perceptual speed and remembering if an object in a series has been displaced. Girls can recall a list of unrelated words better than can boys. Girls also demonstrate better skill at precision manual tasks and mathematical calculations (Kimura 34). |
Measuring intelligence |
The prevalent intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. Relative performance on IQ tests is rather stable over time. |
Other theories of intelligence have been proposed, the most important being those of Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner. |
Sternberg’s triarchic theory points to three kinds of intelligence:
| componential: involves acquiring, storing, analyzing, and retrieving data
experiential: the ability to combine information to produce insights, ideas, and problem-solving strategies
contextual: practical intelligence in everyday situations (Arnett 91)
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Gardner’s theory of muliple intelligences includes nine types:
| verbal-linguistic: verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words
mathematical-logical: ability to think conceptually and abstractly and discern logical or numerical patterns
musical: ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timber
visual-spatial: capacity to think in images and pictures
bodily-kinesthetic: ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully
interpersonal: capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations, and desires of others
intrapersonal: capacity to be aware of inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes
naturalist: ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals, and other natural objects
existential: sensitivity and capacity to tackle the big questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life and why do we die (Thirteen Ed Online).
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