Intrapersonal Intelligence: What Is It? How to Develop It? And What Is It for In Everyday Life?

Surely at some point, you have heard about intrapersonal intelligence. In the same way, surely you have also heard of interpersonal intelligence. These two terms have something in common; both are derived from Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Howard Gardner is a psychologist, researcher, and educator who specialized in the analysis of cognitive abilities. He was born in Pennsylvania on July 11, 1943. He studied psychology and neuropsychology at Harvard University. In 1983, he created the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. It proposes the existence of eight types of intelligences in human beings. In 2011, Gardner was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. This prize acknowledges his contributions from the theory and its implications in the overall improvement of education.

Gardner defines intelligence as “the ability to solve problems or develop products, which are important in a cultural context or in a given community.”

Considering this definition, Gardner identifies eight types of intelligences the human being has with capacity for development. These intelligences work together, but at the same time, they work independently. Among these eight intelligences is intrapersonal intelligence.

Intrapersonal intelligence is defined as the capacity for self-reflection, to be aware of strengths and weaknesses, feelings, and thought processes that constitute self-knowledge. Intrapersonal intelligence helps people differentiate their emotions to build mental models of themselves while making decisions regarding their lives.

Although it is sometimes thought, it is essential to note that intrapersonal intelligence is not defined by the person’s preference for working alone or in isolation.

Some skills intrapersonal intelligence contains are the ability to:

• Self-knowledge

People tend to know what they can do or not and how to react in negative moments, so they do not negatively affect their lives.

• Self-esteem

People tend to connect with their personal growth and to reflect on the decision-making that can change their life completely.

• Self-motivation

People like to set objectives, dream, plan, and reflect on their goals.

• Introspection

People can differentiate their feelings or emotions, name them, and resort to them to interpret and guide them towards their own behavior.

Activities you can do to develop your intrapersonal intelligence:

• Periods of minutes of reflection

Reflection periods are an excellent way to start the morning. Whether they are 1 minute or longer, the periods of meditation allow us to connect with ourselves, reflect on situations, and set short and long-term goals. We can use a phone timer as a tool that will enable us to have a sense of time when carrying out this activity.

• Personal connections

Developing a relationship with ourselves allows us to reflect on our habits, customs, and daily life. When we self-analyze, we reflect on our tastes, strengths, and weaknesses; by doing this analysis, we can infer which decisions suit us and which do not.

• Sessions for programming personal goals

Tracing personal goals is an essential activity in our lives. This allows us to meet our goals while we achieve our dreams. Every time we reach a goal, we feel satisfied and fulfilled, which will enable us to contribute to stable and high self-esteem.

• Meditation

At any time of the day, we can carry out 5 minutes of meditation. These minutes allow us to relax and relieve everyday stress through breathing exercises. There are currently different tools that can help us meditate. Among them, we can find mobile applications such as Headspace and Calm.

• Mindfulness

It is a type of meditation centered on the present. It is also known as full awareness. Mindfulness consists of being intentionally aware of what we do, without rejecting in any way the present experience.

If you want to know how is your intrapersonal intelligence CLICK HERE to obtain your free copy of our Multiple Intelligences Test.

The development of intrapersonal intelligence is significant in the formation of human beings since childhood. The more tools we have in our youth, the better our ability to identify our feelings and emotions will be. This allows us to achieve better decision making; because, in the end, our decisions are what determine the consequences and results in our daily lives.

We invite you to take the course Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. In it, you can learn about the use and application of the theory of multiple intelligences in the classroom, its benefits, and the importance of achieving meaningful learning.

To learn about activities related to the use of Multiple Intelligences in the classroom, we recommend: 48 Multiple Intelligences Classroom Activities.

References

Bartolomei-Torres, P. (2018). Inteligencias múltiples en el aula, un recurso para el aprendizaje significativo en la Enseñanza de una Lengua Extranjera (Ph.D). Universidad de Granada. Recuperado de http://hdl.handle.net/10481/52430

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Piechowski, M. M. (1997). Emotional giftedness: The measure of intrapersonal intelligence. Handbook of gifted education, 2, 366-381.