The Theory of Successful Intelligence

Abstract

This article presents a theory of successful intelligence. The opening addresses some general issues of problems with conventional thinking about intelligence. The rest of the article is divided into 4 main sections. The 1st argues that conventional and some other notions of intelligence are, at best, incomplete and, at worst, wrong. The 2nd section suggests an alternative notion of successful intelligence that expands on conventional notions of intelligence. The 3rd section discusses how we have gotten to the point in psychology and society in which we draw heavily on theories and tests that are inadequate. The final section draws some conclusions about the nature of intelligence. The main conclusion is that it is time to replace conventional notions of intelligence and especially the notion of a general factor of intelligence.