Intelligence, Wisdom, and Creativity: Three Is Better than One
Abstract
Theory, assessment, and instruction in the field of human abilities have tended to emphasize intelligence at the expense of wisdom and creativity. Were these three abilities indistinguishable, such an emphasis would be understandable and acceptable. But a review of the literature as well as data I have recently col-lected suggest that the three abilities are distinguishable, and that there are im-portant differences among them. Moreover, present measurements and in-struction even of intelligence are to a much narrower operationalization of the construct than would be ideal. It is argued that educational psychologists and others need to give more serious attention to all three of these constructs and their interrelationships. What do we mean when we say that "Einstein was intelligent, " or that "Solo-mon was wise, " or that "da Vinci was creative? " Or, to take some more mun-dane examples, what does it mean to say that "John may be intelligent but he just isn't creative, " or "If only the president's wisdom matched his intelli-gence, we might have averted this mess, " or "My grandfather, a self-educated man, might not have done well on intelligence tests, but he had more wisdom than all Harvard professors combined." In each of these statements, some assertion is made about a person's intel-lectual abilities. Clearly, the intention is to make a different statement about each of these people. Indeed, we know that although Einstein, Solomon, and da Vinci are all renowned for thei…
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Creativity is now recognized as an indispensable element for the flexibility and adaptation of individuals in challenging situations.
“Alongside intelligence, with which it shares some common mechanisms, creativity is now recognized as an indispensable element for the flexibility and adaptation of individuals in challenging situations (Sternberg 1986).”
From Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education (2023) · cites this paper as Sternberg 1986
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- Authors
- Sternberg, R.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sternberg, Robert
- ORCID
- Sternberg, Robert
- Venue
- Educational Psychologist
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1986-06-01
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 175-190
- ISSN
- 0046-1520 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2035851986
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Educational Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- intelligence, wisdom, creativity, human capabilities, intelligence testing, creativity assessment
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