Sternberg

The working capability of the minds of living organisms, especially of human beings, is a fascinating subject. That is why many scientists have been conducting research to understand it and find the unique characteristics of the brain. One such scientist was Robert Jeffrey Sternberg. Robert Sternberg is a psychologist who created theories on love, intelligence and creativity. He was born on 9th December 1949 in New Jersey.

Love, intelligence and creativity are three extremely high functioning and interesting aspects of human nature. The way our brain works while we experience all these three emotions or stimuli is an interesting procedure, and Sternberg studied that to create an extensive Sternberg theory of intelligence.

Career.

After getting his degree, Sternberg went to Yale as a professor in psychology. Later on, he became the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. He was the professor of psychology at Oklahoma State University, and later on, he became the president and the professor of psychology and education at the University of Wyoming. Currently, he is working at Cornell University as a professor of human development in the college of human ecology.

Sternberg is well known for his extensive research on the aspects of intelligence, love, cognitive styles and also creativity. The triarchic Sternberg theory of intelligence emphasises successful intelligence, which comprises three aspects:

• Analytical intelligence (comprises problem-solving capabilities).
• Creative intelligence (knowledge and skills to manage new situations).
• Practical intelligence (the capability of adapting to a changing scenario).

Theories of Sternberg.

Other than the intelligence theory of Sternberg, his triangular theory of love also gained a lot of popularity. This theory examines commitment, intimacy and also passion as the three main components of love and relationship.

When these three components are examined and combined, different kinds of relationships emerge: passionate love is an amalgamation of passion and intimacy, whereas compassionate love is an amalgamation of intimacy and commitment.

Contributions of Sternberg in the world of psychology.

Sternberg was the president of the American Psychological Association in 2003. He also got innumerable prestigious awards like the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association for Gifted Children in the year 1985, the E.L. Thorndike Award for Achievement in Educational Psychology from the APA in the year 2003 and also the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science in the year 1999.

Sternberg got around 13 honorary doctorates for his contribution. He has also composed more than 1800 articles and books. APA also enlisted him amongst one of the top 100 psychologists of the 20th century as well. 

The triarchic theory of intelligence.

One of the most important works of Sternberg was his triarchic theory of intelligence. According to this theory, there are different types of intelligence:

• Practical
• Distinct
• Analytical

This theory mostly focuses on human intelligence and creativity. The triarchic theory is basically divided into three types of sub-theories which is associated with a specific type of intelligence:

• The contextual sub theory.
• The experimental sub theory. 
• Componential sub theory.

Key points of the theory:

1. The theory originated as a substitute to the concept of general intelligence factor, or g.
2. The theory was proposed by Robert Sternberg and stated that there are three types of intelligence, one that deals with a person’s ability to manage various contents, another that deals with an individual’s capability to create new ideas and one that deals with a person’s ability to evaluate and solve issues or problems.
3. It also possesses various sub-theories.

The sub-theories:

The contextual sub theory: according to this sub-theory, a person’s intelligence is dependent on their surrounding environment. Hence intelligence can be stated to be dependent on the way a person works in their everyday circumstances. This also comprises how they adapt to their surroundings, how they choose the best environment for themselves and also how the environment is good for their needs.

The experimental sub theory: this sub theory proposes a continuum of experience from new to automation to which intelligence can be applied. The extreme ends of this continuum explain intelligence in the best possible way. Towards the new end of the spectrum, a person is given an unfamiliar task or an issue, and they must come up with a solution to deal with it. At the automation end of the spectrum, the individual will be given a familiar task and will have to deal with it with minimal effort.

The componential sub theory: this sub theory outlines all the processes that result in intelligence. Sternberg said that this sub theory is made up of three kinds of mental procedures:

• Meta components (capability to observe, control and evaluate our mental condition to make proper decisions, solve problems and also make proper plans).
• Performance components (capability to take proper actions on the plans and decisions taken by the meta components).
• Knowledge acquisition components (capability of learning new things in order to make better plans).

Conclusion.

Sternberg made huge contributions in the world of psychology with his unconventional outlook to find out interesting aspects associated with the brain and how it works while different work is done by an individual. Of all the theories he proposed, his theory of intelligence gained maximum popularity. But apart from that, he did a lot towards enriching the field with his research work, books and articles as well.