Intelligence is not a difficult concept to assess in daily life. Each person considers another as intelligent or not based on their own perception, experiences, and values. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see students with low grades in classes achieving good results on IQ tests, for example.
Defining whether someone is intelligent or not goes far beyond grades in exams and theoretical and practical knowledge in any of the areas of knowledge. This is because there is not just one type of intelligence.
Understanding the various types of intelligence is crucial in various contexts. How about discovering a little more about them and understanding how they impact day-to-day life and social relationships?
Types of Intelligence: Discover the Top 9
Knowing the types of intelligence that exist is essential for personal life and how we relate to the world and other people. It is by identifying our type of intelligence and observing other people that we can seize better opportunities to work together, develop new skills, and learn more.
Here are the top 9 types:
1. Spatial
Three-dimensional information, perceiving different colors, identifying lines, analyzing spaces, figures, shapes. All these elements are easier for people who have spatial intelligence.
People with this intelligence are more observant and assimilate contexts more easily. They are individuals who are better at puzzles and assembling and disassembling objects, for example. Basically, they absorb more details of the space occupied by objects and shapes around them.
Although we may initially think that these individuals may have an advantage in navigating through space, this intelligence is actually more associated with creativity and sensitivity.
2. Bodily-Kinesthetic
This can also be called bodily intelligence and kinesthetic intelligence, and it relates to the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for voluntary movements. Having bodily-kinesthetic intelligence gives the individual a perception of depth, distance, and space that is much greater than normal.
These are people with better coordination, refined reflexes, and more precise movements. Individuals with greater ease and who give the impression of having a natural talent for dance or other physical exercises generally possess higher bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
Due to their heightened perceptual ability, individuals naturally execute movements with greater precision, whether they are simple or complex, gentle or forceful.
3. Musical
This intelligence is marked by a greater ability to perceive and interact with sound elements. People with this intelligence can perceive how different sounds interact much more easily.
It is possible to say that individuals with this intelligence perceive and distinguish sounds much more easily, which provides them with better abilities to learn rhythms, play musical instruments, sing, or compose music.
4. Intrapersonal
It is a rare type of intelligence, often associated with leadership ability. However, it is not a type of leadership that operates directly, but rather one that seeks to inspire and influence with ideas through an understanding of others' thoughts, feelings, and desires.
These are thoughtful leaders, more introspective and reserved, who excel in individual activities such as research, problem-solving, and finding solutions, demonstrating a high capacity for logical reasoning.
5. Interpersonal
In contrast to intrapersonal intelligence, which is more introspective, this type engages individuals with the world and other people more actively. The capacity for leadership is also present here, but in the form of an individual who takes responsibility and leads the action.
These are leaders capable of identifying the strengths of others and have a great power of persuasion and inspiration, in addition to their high ability to coordinate and organize teamwork.
6. Logical-Mathematical
Talent for logical reasoning and mathematics is just the beginning of the skills associated with this type of intelligence. Generally, individuals who possess it also have an excellent memory, are organized, disciplined, and are more adept at solving complex problems.
This intelligence is associated with the right hemisphere of the brain.
7. Linguistic
The ability to express oneself of people with linguistic intelligence will always be their major advantage. The use of written or spoken language to convey ideas more effectively is their primary advantage, but their ability doesn't stop there.
Related to the left hemisphere of the brain, it is one of the most common intelligences to possess.
8. Existential
It is an intelligence of questioning, linked to beliefs, cultural habits, family, and faith. Although they are questioners, their interest and curiosity are more linked to the subjective than the scientific.
These are individuals who are constantly seeking explanations for the meaning of life, explanations about how the world formed, and other topics often addressed by philosophy and theology.
9. Naturalist
Naturalists are people with an intelligence more connected to nature, having greater sensitivity to its elements and perceiving details and sensations in interaction with the environment, fauna, and flora than most.
From the more objective to the more subjective, types of intelligence are always cerebral processes and ways of thinking and interpreting the world with an emphasis on one skill or another.
The better these intelligences are developed, the greater an individual's ability to solve problems in different contexts, learn new information, and improve their professional and personal life.