Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life

This book reviews psychological research on practical intelligence and describes its importance in everyday life.

Robert J. Sternberg (Author), George B. Forsythe (Author), Jennifer Hedlund (Author), Joseph A. Horvath (Author), Richard K. Wagner (Author), Wendy M. Williams (Author), Scott A. Snook (Author), Elena Grigorenko (Author)

9780521650564, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 2000

306 pages, 2 b/w illus. 9 tables
24 x 16 x 2.5 cm, 0.75 kg

"...this book os intended primarily for scholars, but should prove accessible and interesting for most PT readers." Psychology Today

This book reviews psychological research on practical intelligence and describes its importance in everyday life. The authors reveal the importance of tacit knowledge - what we have learned from our own experience, through action. Although it has been seen as an indispensable element of expertise, intelligence researchers have found it difficult to quantify. The data shows that practical intelligence is psychologically and statistically distinct from academic intelligence, and is distinct as well from personality and styles of thought. The data also indicates that practical intelligence predicts job performance and even aspects of school performance as well as or better than does academic intelligence. This volume thoroughly examines studies of practical intelligence in the United States and in many other parts of the world as well, and for varied occupations, such as management, military leadership, teaching, research, and sales.

1. What is practical intelligence?
2. The nature of intelligence
3. The specificity of practical intelligence: phenomenology and development
4. Practical intelligence in the workplace
5. Approaches to studying practical intelligence
6. Understanding practical intelligence: the role of tacit knowledge
7. Measuring tacit knowledge
8. The role of practical intelligence in civilian settings
9. Practical intelligence: an example from in the military workplace
10. Practical implications
11. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Psychological methodology [JMB]