An Opportunity for Empiricism

An Opportunity for Empiricism Howard Gardner Review by Multiple Intelligences : The Theory in Practice David Lubinski and Camilla P. Benbow New York : BasicBooks, 1993 . 304 pp. ISBN 0-465-01821-1 (hardcover) ; 0-465-01822-X (paperback) . $30 .00 ($40.00, Canada) hardcover; $15 .00 paperback Howard Gardner, professor ofeducation and codirector of Project Zero at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts), is recipient ofa MacArthur Prize Fellowship (1981-1986), the Grawemeyer Award in Education (1990), an American Psy- chological Association (APA) William James Award, and an APA National Psychology Awardfor Excellence in the Media. Gardner is author ofCreating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi ; Leading Minds; and Frames of Mind and coauthor, with D. H. Feldman and M. Csikszentmihalyi, of Changing the World: A Framework for the Study of Creativity . 0 David Lubinski, associate professor ofpsychology, director ofthe Psychometrics and Applied Individual Differences Division, and codirector of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at Iowa State University (Ames), is coeditor, with R. V. Dawis, of Assessing Indi- vidual Differences in Human Behavior : New Methods, Concepts, and Findings and coauthor, with R. V. Dawis, ofthe chap- ter "Aptitudes, Skills, and Proficiencies" in M. D. Dunnette and L. Hough (Eds .) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 3, 2nd ed.). a Camilla P. Benbow, distinguished professor, chair of psychology, and codirector ofSMPY and ofthe Office of Precollegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted (OPPTAG) at Iowa State University, is a member ofthe Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars and coeditor, with J. C. Stanley, of Academic Precocity and, with D. Lubinski, of the forth- coming Intellectual Talent: Psychometric and Social Issues . ultiple Intelligences: The Theory in cal, spatial, linguistic, interpersonal, and lishing differential educational-voca- Practice is a distillation of work intrapersonal intelligences) . These intel- tional counseling expectations on the ba- in educational assessments and interven- ligences are construed as literally inde- sis of individual differences in abilities tions stimulated by Gardner's (1983) pendent from one another, both pheno- and interests, a perspective with a long theory of multiple intelligences (MI), typically and neurologically, and should and celebrated history in applied psy- which was first presented in his popular be, but are not, equally valued from a chology (Brayfield, 1950 ; Brewer, 1942 ; Frames ofMind: The Theory ofMultiple sociocultural point of view . We agree Williamson, 1939, 1965). It is a message Intelligences. Succinctly, Gardner has with Gardner that the differential validity that has been lost in today's school re- proposed that conventional general in- of ability dimensions beyond general in- form . Yet we feel obliged also to note telligence tests are narrow and one-di- telligence is underappreciated in edu- that these intelligences, while adding mensional whereas, in reality, there are cational settings (Humphreys, Lubinski, nuances to the psychology ofintellectual seven "intelligences" (i.e., musical, & Yao, 1993). We also applaud him for behavior, are not new . They possess bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathemati- reminding us of the importance of estab- strong linkages to traditional psycho- Howard Gardner (©1994 by Jerry Bauer) David Lubinski Camilla P. Benbow CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY, 1995, Vol. 40, No. 10 935 metric conceptualizations ofhuman abil- documentation of their efficacy (simply of external real-world relationships than ities, and nearly all have been identified because a problem exists) can make a more elaborate, expensive, and time- in the classic psychometric literature things worse. consuming system, then the former is (Carroll, 1993, p . 641 ; Messick, 1992). The driving force behind Gardner's certainly preferable. Moreover, their applied utility, in edu- agenda to change the way intelligences The importance of real-world criteria cational (Snow & Lohman, 1989) and vo- are assessed stems from his concerns, is, as a matter of fact, a recurring theme cational (Lubinski & Dawis, 1992) con- which are not clearly specified, about throughout Gardner's book. It is curious, texts, has been stressed by those who find traditional "decontextualized assess- therefore, that Schmidt and Hunter's scientific merit in conventional instruments," such as the Standard Achieve- (1981) work on the validity generaliza- ments. Nonetheless, they remain under- ment Test (SAT) and American College tion of "decontextualized" instruments used. Test (ACT) exams. He says that they is not cited with admiration . For over two These are some general comments on should be abandoned (p. 184). He rec- decades, these investigators have com- Gardner's theory and philosophy. Yet MI ommends instead contextualized assess- piled thousands of ability-performance theory is not the main thrust ofthis book, ments, which are conducted in more nat- validity coefficients on over 12,000 jobs although it is the conceptual foundation ural settings-where learning and cre- (over the full range of occupational pres- for the work presented. Discussed here, ativity actually happen. Contextualized tige, which they have classified into five in more detail, is the need to assess each assessments are predicated on the idea categories based on their nature and of these intelligences in an intelligence- that, to truly assess intelligence and its complexity). Through their extensive fair way by using portfolios and project many manifestations, we must do so while meta-analyses of literally hundreds of ratings, for example, in contrast to out- a person is operating on a meaningful task thousands of workers, using general in- of-context standardized assessments. This in "the real world." Why, we feel com- telligence and other conventional psy- book also attempts to capture how MI pelled to ask, do we need to engage in a chometric factors as predictors, they find theory is and can be translated into prac- zero-sum game? Is there not room in that, in intellectually demanding occu- tice through a collection of papers and psychology for both forms of assessment? pations, nearly half of the variance in chapters not necessarily written with this And should both approaches not be sub- performance criteria is accounted for by book in mind or solely by Gardner him- jected to empirical scrutiny to ascertain the general intelligence factor of tradi- self. Some chapters, for instance, include their comparative usefulness and incre- tional instruments.' Furthermore, the updates on Project Spectrum (a project mental validity? Moreover, there are general factor accounts for substantively aimed at assessing abilities in an intelli- concerns about contextualized assess- significant variance across all job classes gence-fair way) and the Key School in ment that are not addressed in this book. (cf. Schmidt, Ones, & Hunter, 1992, and Indianapolis (a K-6 elementary school The first involves the process of con- references therein). Surely these are real- based on MI theory). For the remainder struct validation itself. Scientific justifi- world criteria . 2 of this review, therefore, we have de- cation for the context of assessment, as Given their stinging criticism of the cided to focus on the conceptual and em- well as its medium, is obtained from the validity of psychometric measures, we pirical bases for Gardner's recommen- breadth and depth of a measuring instru- were surprised by the lack of concern for dations for school practice. ment's network of correlates and fore- the many technical reliability-validity We will examine in particular his as- casting capabilities . They document its problems one encounters with ratings sessment recommendations inasmuch as construct validity . The context of assess- (Landy & Farr, 1980) and portfolio as- Gardner has noted that, "while our ed- ment, like an instrument's public rela- sessments, particularly when done on a ucational work has ranged from curric- tions appeal or its face validity, is not a national level. We were left wondering ulum development to teacher education, central component to the construct val- whether Gardner fully appreciates these our primary point of leverage has been idation process. Gardner is skeptical of issues and what he anticipates the reli- the creation of new forms of assessment" assessments like reversed digit span, be- ability is of his proposed assessment which "allow individuals to demonstrate cause people are not often asked to per- scheme. Without reliability, we cannot their strengths and their understandings form such tasks in meaningful life situa- have validity in the real world or any- in ways that are comfortable for them yet tions (p. 241) . But in reality, most psy- where else. subject to public accountability" (p. xv) . chologists are no more intrinsically Moreover, the empirical work aimed These assessments have attempted to interested in digit span than a physician at evaluating Spectrum, Gardner's ap- "get away altogether from tests and cor- is intrinsically interested in oral temper- proach to assessment, would pass few relations among tests, and look instead at ature. What these scientific practitioners preliminary screening committees for a more naturalistic sources of information are interested in are the correlates and master's thesis in psychology . Too about how peoples around the

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