The fact that intelligence is manifest in a variety of different forms makes it difficult to characterize. However, the most widely accepted definition was articulated by psychologist Linda Gottfredson:
Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. It is not merely book-learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings, “catching on,” “making sense” of things, or “figuring out” what to do.
Intelligence, denoted to as g is usually measured by IQ tests that score performance on cognitive skills such as those mentioned in the definition above. Yet people at the same IQ level will score differently on the IQ subtests. Why is this?
Psychologists, based on the work of Raymond Cattell, believe that general intelligence, g, contains two components, fluid intelligence (neural efficiency) and crystallized intelligence (learned or acquired intelligence). During our formative years and beyond, our environment, including our educational experiences, determines the skills and knowledge we acquire through the continuous process of neural growth and pruning. See: How does your IQ change over time? – Intelligence and IQ
For example, outstanding physicist and Nobel laureate, Richard Feynman is reported to have received a score of only 125 on his IQ test when he was in school. Some have attributed this low score to a relatively low performance on the language section of the IQ test. In mathematics, he was intellectually gifted. Feynman’s early experiences in fixing radios and exploring “how things work,” built his capacity for problem solving and abstract thinking, while others of similar fluid intelligence may have been exposed to environments that stimulated their acquisition of language skills.
Similarly emotional intelligence, defined as the combination of intrapersonal skills (self-knowledge) and interpersonal skills (social skills) are acquired during the formative years by environmental experiences including family nurturing, peer-group associations and activities such as team sports. In the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory, the character of Sheldon Cooper depicts a person of very high IQ who has high mathematical intelligence and low emotional intelligence. Another character, Penny, is presented as someone of high emotional intelligence who has only average IQ. However, these dimensions of intelligence are not mutually exclusive. There are people of high IQ who also have high emotional intelligence and display outstanding social skills. There are people who have neither high IQ nor social skills, and as you read this, you are probably thinking of a few people you know.
