The Basis of Human Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment. Louis Thurstone believed with his Theory of Primary Mental Abilities that intelligence was comprised of nine distinctly different elements, which he named as the primary mental abilities. These nine primary mental abilities were: visual and spatial ability (the ability to picture shapes and spatial relationships), perceptual speed (the ability to understand perceptual information rapidly and to see …

…him, I might get in trouble.” Creative. “Okay, now that I did hit him, how do I cover this up?” One’s creativity will determine the way they will cover it up. Thurstone divided human intelligence into nine distinct parts, which constitute the full human intelligence. Gardner divided human intelligence into seven distinct intelligences which are independent of one another. Sternberg divided human intelligence into three distinct parts, the analytic, the creative, and the practical.