Space intelligence: what is it and how can it be improved?
The spatial intelligence it is a concept that derives from the Multiple Intelligences Theory proposed by the psychologist Howard Gardner. This type of intelligence can be defined as the set of mental abilities directly related to navigation and the rotation of objects in our mind (that is, its imaginary visualization from different angles). Therefore, spatial intelligence is so called because it is involved in the resolution of spatial problems, whether real or imaginary.
From our level of spatial intelligence will depend our success in tasks such as driving and parking a car, building a model, orienting , give instructions to another person who sees things from another angle or handle more or less complex tools.
Other less frequent activities in which spatial intelligence is strongly involved are, for example, those in which a form must be sculpted into a material or a plan of a structure made. Thus, Both architects and sculptors tend to show good level of this type of intelligence .
Space intelligence and vision
Something that we have to take into account when understanding the concept of spatial intelligence is that, as such, it does not depend on our ability to see through the eyes . The determining factor in spatial intelligence is being able to imagine a three-dimensional space that maintains its coherence with the passage of time independent of the angle from which it is mentally visualized.
Of course, sight is one of the most important senses when it comes to learning what our environment is like, but people who are born blind can also use spatial intelligence thanks to the information of the environment that comes to them through their hearing. touch, etc.
Can you improve on spatial intelligence?
As often happens when dealing with the subject of intelligence, Quite a lot of people tend to think that these kinds of mental abilities are innate and are determined by genetic inheritance . In the case of space intelligence, in addition, there is the fact that several investigations seem to suggest that men have somewhat higher spatial abilities when compared with the opposite sex.
However, space intelligence It can be improved with some training , as it happens with intelligence in general.
It has been shown that practicing exercises similar to those used to assess the level of spatial intelligence is practical to improve in this dimension of cognitive abilities. These exercises consist, for example, in tasks of spatial rotation, comparison of two objects placed in different positions which can be the same or only similar, spatial attention to several stimuli, etc.
So ... how to improve it?
The specific exercises that have proven effective in improving spatial intelligence are difficult to access from home, and belong in any case to training programs led by specialists. However, that does not mean that we can not include in our day to day tasks that emulate the logic used in these laboratory tests. For it there is no more to take into account what is space intelligence and throw creativity.
For example, driving a car regularly (and safely) can help, since in it we have to take into account the situation of all parts of its surface. Learning to plan the placement of figures in drawings created by us also involves the challenge of distributing objects that, although two-dimensional, occupy a space. The same applies to tasks that are somewhat more demanding (and expensive), such as carving a figure on a block of wood. Any of these activities reinforces our cognitive abilities linked to spatial and visual intelligence.
In the same way, there are games whose mechanics are directly related to the testing of spatial abilities and, by extension, spatial intelligence. Among traditional games we could name, for example, the tangrams and the Rubik's cubes . On the other hand, some examples of video games that pose a special challenge for our spatial intelligence could be Portal, Antichamber or Q.U.B.E. , although the classic platform games in three dimensions such as Super Mario Galaxy They can also go well, since you have to take into account the position of the camera, the position of the character and the location where you want to land on each jump.
Let it not be said that exercising intelligence is boring!
Bibliographic references:
- Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons In Theory And Practice.
- Tzuriel, D. and Egozi, G (2010). Gender Differences in Spatial Ability of Young Children: The Effects of Training and Processing Strategies.Child Development 81 (5): 1417-1430.
