One of the great debates among psychologists centers around the question “What is Intelligence?” My intent is not to give an overview of the different sides of the debate but to introduce the topic as a foundation for explaining why J.P. Guilford’s Structure of Intellect is a valuable tool in describing intellectual ability.

Supported by the idea that there is a universal, general intelligence (g) that we all possess, psychologists have developed the use of the IQ test to measure and define mental capacity. I took my first IQ test in 3rd grade and have taken dozens since. They are easy to find on the internet and they vary in the way they are structured. Consequently, the results for an individual may fall within a 40 point or higher range, bringing into question the validity of some of these tests. One prevailing idea is that one’s IQ is mostly set and can’t be raised…smart people are smart people and there you have it.

Another group of psychologists took a different approach to intelligence and tried to separate it into types of mental processes, like memory, reasoning, and visualization, etc. Their idea was that there were types of “intelligence” that were not tested by standard IQ tests and yet were measurable and distinct. This concept of sets of intellectual abilities developed into Multiple Intelligence Theory. In the 1950s and 60s, a key proponent for this approach was Dr. J.P. Guilford, with his Structure of Intellect model. Today, Howard Gardner is one of the leading psychologists in the Multiple Intelligence field, yet I favor Guilford more than Gardner.

Dr. Guilford performed 20 years of research at USC while working on the Structure of Intellect model, which he displayed as a cube of cells, 5 x 5 x 6. Guilford proposed that each of those 150 cells represented a distinct intellectual ability. Later in his life he expanded the cube to 180 cells and acknowledged that additional cells were theoretically possible. Furthermore, Guilford voiced his opinion that there was a higher order of intelligence beyond his Structure of Intellect (SI) model. It’s my opinion that that next level of intelligence will be found to consist of the combination of cells from the SI model into supercells of a new model. Interestingly, the new supercell model might eventually begin to correlate well with some of the elements of the universal intelligence (g) theory.

Most scientists and psychologists have bypassed Guilford’s SI model, largely due to its complexity and being too unwieldy to use regularly with clients. On the other hand, the precision of having 180 different measures of intellectual ability can provide tremendous insight. An effort was made in the 1990s to program some of Guilford’s tests and to create a computerized interpretation program. I became involved with the project in 2002, only to have it stall due to lack of funding later that year.

It’s been an interesting journey for me. Working with the Structure of Intellect is not my primary mission in life, at least I don’t think it is. Yet, I am really drawn to the topic and find that my specific intellectual strengths are very useful in this endeavor. I can see things that I believe Guilford got wrong, as Guilford’s work was limited by the speed of computing power in the 1960s and he wasn’t able to calibrate his tests one with another. Lacking a Ph.D. it would seem blasphemous to some for me to make this statement. However, that’s the beauty of Multiple Intelligence. I don’t have to have a degree to have the ability, and the mere presence of a doctoral degree does not mean that one is qualified to solve certain types of problems.

My intent for this blog is to introduce the components of Guilford’s SI model, as well as other information that relates to our own Intunique.