Triarchic Theory Of Intelligence

The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence was developed by Robert Sternberg and attempts to explain how intelligence works in humans. Sternberg believed that intelligence was more complex than one all-encompassing general type of intelligence, which was the idea that dominated most of the previous intelligence theories.

He proposed that intelligence was comprised of how well a person adapted to their changing environments and used their knowledge to shape the world around them. This was a more cognitive approach to intelligence theory than a behavioristic viewpoint. The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence gets its name from the three factors that Sternberg believed constructed a "successful intelligence."

The first factor is componential intelligence which is analytical in nature and is how good a person is at problem solving. The second is experiential intelligence which is creative in scope and focuses on how well a person deals with novel situations using their past knowledge and skills. The third factor is practical intelligence (colloquially described as 'street smarts') and is how well a person can adapt to change in their environment.