ROBERT STERNBERG THE TRIARCHIC THEORY

ABOUT ROBERT STERNBERG Born 1949 to a Jewish family in New Jersey Suffered from test anxiety ; reasoned that a test was not an adequate measurement of his true knowledge and academic capabilities “[IQ quizzes] do not provide the kind of measurement of intelligence that tape measures provide of height.” Problems with test taking first turned him on to psychology Created the Sternberg Test of Mental Agility (STOMA), an intelligence test Test-taking abilities became his standard in college Told by a Yale professor to pursue a different major after doing so poorly in an introductory Psychology class Went on to earn a B.A. in in Psychology at Yale, and then his PhD at Stanford.

ABOUT ROBERT STERNBERG Most of Sternberg’s main research involves the following: Higher mental functions Styles of thinking Cognitive modifiability Leadership Love and hate Love and war Put forth both the triarchic theory of love and of intelligence.

LOOKING AT THE TRIARCHIC THEORY All parts require a different form of intelligence.

THE THREE PARTS OF THE THEORY: COMPONENTIAL SUBTHEORY Most associated by Sternberg with analytical giftedness—being able to take apart problems and see solutions not often seen. Individuals with this type of intelligence do not often produce unique ideas of their own. Type of giftedness that is most often tested.

THE THREE PARTS OF THE THEORY: EXPERIENTIAL SUBTHEORY Deals mainly with how well a task is performed in relation to how familiar it is. Role of experience is split into two parts: novelty and automation. A novel situation is one you have never experienced before. Something that has been automated has been performed multiple times and can now be done with little to no extra thought. Associated with his idea of “synthetic giftedness.” Sternberg says people with this form of intelligence are not often seen with the highest IQs because there are not currently any tests that can sufficiently measure their abilities.

THE THREE PARTS OF THE THEORY: PRACTICAL SUBTHEORY Through the three processes of adaption, shaping, and selection, individuals are able to create an ideal fit between themselves and their environment. Often referred to as “street smarts.” Adaption occurs when one makes a change to oneself to adjust their surroundings. (drop in temperature—warm clothes) Shaping occurs when one changes their environment in order to suit their needs. (raise hands—less disruption) Selection happens when a completely new environment is found or created to replace the previous one in order to reach the individual’s goals. (immigrants)

LOOKING AT THE TRIARCHIC THEORY Three main ideas for education psychology based upon Sternberg’s theory Teaching for all types of intelligence is important because students must embrace their strongest abilities while at the same time improving on their weaknesses A student’s strongest ability is most directly connected to his most dominant learning style. Teachers should know their student’s favored learning style and play off of it whenever possible. Because so many varieties of learning styles exist, there should be many diverse assessments of student achievement.

THE TRIARCHIC THEORY IN USE Because of its humanistic approach to acknowledging and promoting the value and contributions of each individual student, the theory has been supported by the educational community around the world. Many teachers claim to use this theory as the basic framework for their pedagogy.

REFERENCES Child Development and Education (page 278) intelligence/ intelligence/ Successful Intelligence by Robert J. Sternberg

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