What is the Nature of Intelligence?

Psychologists define intelligence in many different ways. If you really think about it, who do we actually consider intelligent? Albert Einstein, perhaps, but so are painters, writers, actors and actresses, and dancers. Can we consider people who excel at sports as intelligent? Psychologists have attempted many times to come up with at least a simple definition that can make even a minority to agree, but to no avail; although one thing is for sure - intelligence is mainly about cognitive processes (that is, problem solving, the use of higher-order mental processes, and memory).

Research about intelligence mainly focuses on two areas - individual differences and assessment. Psychologists are concerned about the relationship between intelligence and personality, the individual attributes that could facilitate or compromise intelligence, and how intelligence manifests in different kinds of people. Assessment, on the other hand, is all about developing and refining tests that measure intelligence. Today, psychologists are increasingly becoming involved in these two areas. Some utilize assessments to gain more insight about the individuality of intelligence, while others draw from individual cases to develop and refine existing intelligence assessments.