There’s a new book by the founders of Psychology and Mind! This is What is intelligence: from the IQ to multiple intelligences , a work that aims to give a panoramic view of the development of research into intelligence and of the main authors who have put forward theories about it.

Between its pages there is a review of everything fundamental related to the subject: how did the study of intelligence arise? What is IQ? How does an intelligence test work? How does being more or less skilled in this set of mental capacities affect our lives? Does it simply arise from the genetics we inherit, or can it be shaped by our learning? Is there only one intelligence, or many? In this work by Adrián Triglia , Bertrand Regader and Jonathan García-Allen you have the opportunity to answer all these questions.

A book on intelligence designed to spread

From experience, we know that intelligence is one of the topics related to psychology that generates most interest. This is normal, taking into account that it is one of the most important psychological constructs when it comes to predicting the quality of life that people will have. This set of mental skills allows us to communicate better, get better jobs, follow a healthier lifestyle and make better decisions.

Moreover, although it has a great influence on our lives, this is a subject capable of provoking the most heated discussions. Since intelligence is a concept that has been incorporated into everyone’s vocabulary , and since practically everything we do is linked in one way or another to it, it is very easy to take a stand for or against an opinion about what defines us as intelligent beings, how this quality can be measured, how it can be enhanced, how intelligent people behave, etc.

As if this were not enough, there are even those who have come to question the idea that there is only one intelligence, causing some to adhere to a vision of mental capacities according to which there are a series of cognitive abilities that run in parallel (musical intelligence, spatial intelligence), so that schools would only be focusing on evaluating a very limited number of these qualities, leaving out all of them that are not adapted to the gears of the economy. It is even possible that many believe that this is the prevailing paradigm in psychology, which is a mistake.

Thus, intelligence has to be addressed in any initiative that aims to disseminate about psychology in general. And, in this case, we have been in charge of putting this grain of sand in the Neuroscience and Psychology collection of El País. You can order it at any newsstand in Spain or through this website.

What does “What is intelligence? From IQ to multiple intelligences?”

The book that we present is a work specially thought to be an introduction to the subject of intelligence. That is, for readers who have never had contact with the subject and who have not yet become familiar with the concepts worked on in this broad area of research. It condenses, in relatively little space, everything that is fundamental for understanding this facet of human behaviour, and also contains illustrations and diagrams to make it easy to understand.

Ah, it also contains sections specially dedicated to curiosities! These small “modules” always help to have a more global vision about what human cognition is , the people who have made contributions to this scientific field or the context in which these investigations have been developed… although some have been added, just because they are fun.

So you know, if you’re interested in getting a general idea about everything that’s known about intelligence, this might be a good entry point as a book on disclosure-oriented psychology . It never hurts to know how that group of mental skills works that has allowed us to be who we are!