“Intelligence, far beyond the confines of traditional IQ assessments, embodies a multifaceted tapestry of abilities that extend beyond mere cognitive process.” It includes many traits, such as the capacity for reasoning, memory, and problem-solving. True intelligence, however, crosses these boundaries and includes emotional intelligence, creativity, and flexibility in handling the challenges of daily life. Knowing people from different backgrounds is important for identifying intelligence since they may have differing experiences with standardised test formats, which could conceal their true intellectual prowess. Studies show that those with conditions like autism may possess intelligence that surpasses standard test scores, demonstrating the complex and multifaceted character of human cognitive abilities. Moreover, intelligence resists easy measurements.”
Read More: Theories of Intelligence in Psychology
Different types of intelligence
We consider intelligence as one element of our adaptive ability, but Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard University, told us that there are various types of intelligence and different people are good at different abilities. They wrote Frames of Mind, intelligence Is of eight types, and each type represents different ways of how a person best processes information. These types include:
- Spatial intelligence
- Body kinaesthetic intelligence
- musical intelligence
- Linguistic intelligence
- Logical-mathematical intelligence
- Interpersonal intelligence
- Intrapersonal intelligence
- Naturalistic intelligence
- Existential Intelligence
10 Signs that Intelligent People Possess:
1. Pleasant attitude and hard-working:
Intelligent people tend to have a positive attitude towards different aspects of their life, including personal, social and professional life. These people are open to learning, feedback, and criticism and have a very hard-working when hard work is required. Apart from that these people are always ready for self growth and they tend to develop in different areas without caring about appreciation. These people tend to approach all the challenges of their lives positively and think of them as a reason for change to grow.
Read More: Navigating Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence
2. Precise and credible decision-making
Intelligent people are very well known for their decision-making skills based on the strong intuition they have. It is very easy for an intelligent person to differentiate between the pros and cons of any decision they have to make. They are capable of analysing the results quickly, accurately, and based on realistic outcomes considering various perspectives before concluding.
3. Strong sense of self-control.
The idea of self-control includes the idea of a sense of self that intelligent people or highly aware of themselves. Intelligent people are highly disciplined and able to self-regulate in managing emotions, impulses and behaviours. Self control is a sign that a person is mature and in intelligent people, the quality of self control is commonly seen. These people are not impulsive and are calm to any sense of discomfort allowing themselves to solve the problem with focus and rationality to reduce the discomfort quickly. This sense of self-control in highly intelligent people makes them highly resilient to distress as well.
4. High emotional intelligence
Along with logical intelligence, intelligent people tend to have a better understanding of emotions and decisions to connect with others, showing compassion and empathy and always seem to know the right word to say because of their high emotional intelligence. Such people or not, only able to help others manage their emotions, but are capable of identifying and managing their own emotions as well. A high level of emotional intelligence is not only important for personal settings but proves to be helpful in professional relationships too.
Read More: Empathy in Action: Helping Children Navigate Big Emotions
5. Analytical Thinking
People with high IQs show analytical thinking and attention to detail. Intelligent people are highly capable of thinking out of the box, making them creative and adaptable and versatile. According to psychologists (Getzel and Jackson), Intelligent people may or may not have creativity according to their level of Intelligence, but it is widely acceptable that they present Analytical/critical thinking.
6. Curious and open to new experiences
Intelligent people engage in conversations that build up their passion and they usually ask questions like who, what, when, where, how, and what if. Such people have a natural curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. They are eager to learn about different areas of life, including people, culture, animals, history and the world. Intelligent people recognise that others have information and insight that they can share which will help them grow, expand their wisdom, and enhance their intellect.
Read More: How to Cultivate Self-Compassion and Promote Mental Well-being
7. Highly adaptable
Adaptability is a one-unit quality and a key component of intelligence. It is the ability to adjust to new situations and changing events. Intelligent people can easily adjust to new situations, environments and challenges, showcasing, flexibility and resilience. In facing drivers’ circumstances, it is also an ability to balance consistency and flexibility, knowing when to stick to their routine and embrace new opportunities.
8. Skeptical
Apart from being open-minded, intelligent people tend to question, every think, critically, evaluating information and ideas, rather than accepting them blindly, which helps in forming well-formed opinions. The ability to be sceptical allows them to understand all the knowledge they are acquiring along with developing their perspective by questioning and analysing all the information.
9. Observation
Observation is one of the important skills of highly intelligent people to process large information, noticing even the small details. Highly intelligent people were easily able to identify the errors in inconsistencies that others may miss, making it a valuable contribution to the team or project. For intelligent people there is no rush in comprehending the task rather they choose to analyse and understand their surroundings to make a well-informed decision.
10. Open-minded
Intelligent people do not stop themselves from learning new ideas and take part in new opportunities. They are willing to accept and consider others’ views with values and broad-mindedness appreciating diverse ideas, promoting a broad understanding of the world. Being open-minded makes it easy for intelligent people to improve constantly because of the continuous alteration in their perspective.
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References +
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-signs-high-intelligence-answered-paul-nowak
- https://www.bustle.com/wellness/highly-intelligent-people-have-these-traits-heres-how-to-tell-if-youre-one-of-them
- https://www.healthline.com/health/signs-of-intelligence
- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/10/harvard-psychologist-types-of-intelligence-where-do-you-score-highest-in.html
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