A Brain Basis for Intra-personal Intelligence?

When I first proposed the theory of multiple intelligences many years ago, one of the most powerful sources of evidence in support of the theory was this fact: injury to different portions of the cortex results in different profiles of strength and weakness. To use the most familiar example, lesions in the middle/medial area of the left cerebral cortex lead to problems with language; while lesions in the posterior regions of the right cerebral cortex lead to problems with spatial processing (these characterizations hold in right-handed persons; the picture with left-handed individuals proves to be more complex). If the brain “assigns” certain functions to specific parts of the brain, this finding suggests that these facets of intellect are or can be dissociated.

Collating evidence for cerebral localization of the understanding of human beings (the personal intelligences) proved to be a greater challenge. Evidence came largely from certain clinical conditions, such as autism, Asperger syndrome, and/or more diffuse damage to the right hemisphere (again, in right-handed persons). And being able to distinguish between understanding of others and understanding of oneself eluded cortical accounts. (Accordingly, in Frames of Mind, I had but a single chapter, entitled “The Personal Intelligences.”) As I have sometimes quipped, only your psychoanalyst knows whether you have a good understanding of yourself.

But this situation may be changing. In an interesting article published recently in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, the authors claim that the ventral portion of the medial prefrontal cortex “has a greater response during the retrieval of self-knowledge than knowledge of others. Moreover, damage to this region has been shown to impair the ability to retrieve self-knowledge while leaving trait knowledge concerning others intact.” The authors go on to speculate that we draw on our self-knowledge in making inference about others—even characters in fiction—to the extent that (we believe) they resemble ourselves.

MI theory is a synthesis of a vast amount of knowledge about human cognition. No single experiment or observation can prove or disprove it. But it is encouraging when research exploring issues quite remote from theories of “intelligence” provides support for claims from the theory.

Citation:

Broom, Timothy W., Robert S. Chavez, Dylan D. Wagner. Becoming the King in the North: identification with fictional characters is associated with greater self–other neural overlap. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Volume 16, Issue 6, June 2021. Pages 541–551, https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsab021

I thank Branton Shearer for bringing this work to my attention.

Photo by Natasha Connellon Unsplash

What if your child can't be a CEO?

In this recent letter to The Daily Inquirer, a reader asks how to break the news to his son that the job of CEO in the family business will not go to him, but rather to his sister. One piece of advice this father receives is to remind his son that people have multiple intelligences, and that while he may not be suited to the role of CEO, he has other strengths.

Howard Gardner has said that whether someone might be a CEO or a blue collar worker, everyone is worthy of respect or dignity. We develop our intelligences over the course of life—it’s never too early but it may never be too late either.

The letter and response are reproduced below.

How do I tell my son he can’t be CEO?

Queena N. Lee-Chua - Philippine Daily Inquirer

May 27, 2021

The board prefers my daughter, instead of my son, both of whom are in their late 30s, to be CEO in our family business,” says E. S. “I agree with the board. But my son expects to be my successor. He will get angry and hurt if he does not make it. A friend told me to let Human Resources break the news. What do you think?”

My reply:

I do not agree with your friend. Your son will never forget and might not even forgive the fact that you did not have the courage to talk to him when needed. Suppose Human Resources gives him the bad news, do you really think he will not confront you?

You sound as if you fear your son, for undisclosed reasons. Are you afraid he may turn violent and harm you, himself, or others upon hearing the bad news? Then ask another board member to be present when you talk to him.

I am concerned about how your son will interact with his sister afterward. If their sibling bond is strong, then it can weather this momentous issue. If not, discuss with your daughter on how to inform your son.

It is human to feel hurt when we don’t get what we want, but why does your son have these expectations? Did you promise to make him CEO? If so, then tell him that for the sake of the business, his sister is a better choice and he should support her.

If you communicate to your son that you love and treasure him, that being CEO is not a measure of his essence as a person, he should be able to handle the news well.

Your children are millennials, and research shows that millennials and Generation Z are more sensitive than older generations to any sort of critique, however gently phrased. So tread lightly but firmly.

Tell your son that people have different types of intelligence, as Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner points out, and not everyone is cut out to be CEO.

Now if the board feels that your son is a CEO-in-the-making, but that he is not yet ready, then encourage him to build on his strengths and improve on his weaknesses. Have a heart-to-heart talk on what he concretely needs to work on to someday lead the company.

In some family businesses, the CEO role rotates among qualified members, and perhaps, this can be the case in yours. Some enterprises create major roles for the runners-up, but if merit is not taken into consideration, the results in these cases are mixed at best.

Are you afraid of losing your son, that he may be so hurt that he will no longer work with you and with his sister? In professionally run nonfamily businesses, emotional blackmail is not tolerated, but your circumstances are different.

How invaluable is your son to the company? How strong are your family bonds? How much are you personally willing to sacrifice if your son threatens to leave? You need to discuss these issues with your daughter and the board.

In the worst case, if your son decides to leave, then give him your blessing and support to chart his own path.

Photo by Floriane Vita on Unsplash

Interpersonal Intelligence After the Pandemic

This article from The Great Courses Daily, emphasizes the importance of “social intelligence” as many cities around the world begin to emerge from post-pandemic lockdowns. The author references Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences when explaining the skills necessary for successful social interactions. Click here to read the full article.

Howard Gardner used the term interpersonal intelligence rather than “social intelligence.”

 What is interpersonal intelligence?

 In Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, he explains as follows.

  Interpersonal intelligence builds on a core capacity to notice distinctions among others—in particular, contrasts in their moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions. In more advanced forms, this intelligence permits a skilled adult to read the intentions and desires of others, even when they have been hidden. This skill appears in a highly sophisticated form in religious or political leaders, salespersons, marketers, teachers, therapists, and parents…All indices in brain research suggest that the frontal lobes play a prominent role in interpersonal knowledge. Damage in this area can cause profound personality changes while leaving other forms of problem solving unharmed— after such an injury, a person is often not the “same person."  

 …Biological evidence for interpersonal intelligence encompasses two additional factors often cited as unique to humans. One factor is the prolonged childhood of primates, including the close attachment to the mother. In those cases where the mother (or a substitute figure) is not available and engaged, normal interpersonal development is in serious jeopardy. The second factor is the relative importance in humans of social interaction. Skills such as hunting, tracking, and killing in prehistoric societies required participation and cooperation of large numbers of people. The need for group cohesion, leadership, organization, and solidarity follows naturally from this.

Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash 


Spatial Intelligence and Teaching Children with Autism

In this recent article from Verywell Health (click here for link), autism advocate Lisa Jo Rudy, suggests several ways that visual tools may be used to help children with autism learn and thrive.

Scientist and activist, Temple Grandin, popularized the idea that people with autism are “visual thinkers” with her book, Thinking in Pictures. Grandin, who has autism, described how she "thinks in pictures" not words. This makes interpersonal skills more challenging, but proves to be an advantage in other areas, such as designing livestock facilities in Grandin’s case. Howard Gardner has said that although children with autism can experience impaired interpersonal intelligence, they may have remarkable other abilities, for example, musical, mechanical, or spatial.

Spatial intelligence is used for navigation, map-reading, visualizing objects from different angles, visual arts, recognizing faces or scenes, and noticing fine details. Brain research has indicated the posterior regions of the right cerebral cortex are most important for spatial processing.

Gardner encourages teaching methods that allow students to use multiple intelligences. The article gives ideas on how to use visual tools which enable children with autism to use their spatial intelligence, especially if they experience challenges in linguistic intelligence.