Treat "I’m just not that kind of person" as an unpractised skill, not a fixed line
When you write yourself off in a whole domain, restate it as a specific skill you have not built in specific situations, and test that.
Pourquoi ça marche
Gardner’s multiple intelligences popularised the idea of separate, fixed kinds of ability, and integral theory’s lines are often read the same way. But the strong version is contested: a critical review found inadequate empirical support for multiple intelligences, and a test of the theory in 200 people found the abilities positively correlated with a large general factor rather than independent. The more defensible finding — performance varies by domain and context and rises with support and practice — turns a fixed label into a skill that has simply had little practice in the situations that matter.
Comment faire
- Write the label you use about yourself: "I’m not emotional", "I’m not a people person", "I’m not a numbers person".
- Rewrite it as a skill in a situation: "I have not practised saying what I feel during conflict", "I have not practised small talk with strangers at work events".
- Find one past moment when you did that skill, even partly, and note what helped.
- Set one small, supported attempt in the rewritten situation this week, and record what happened rather than whether you were "good at it".
Données probantes
Gardner (1983) proposed several relatively independent intelligences. Waterhouse (2006) reviewed the evidence and argued that multiple intelligences theory lacks adequate empirical support; Gardner and Moran (2006) replied that the critique misunderstands and oversimplifies the theory. Visser, Ashton and Vernon (2006) gave 200 participants two tests for each intelligence and found the tests positively intercorrelated with a large general factor; the purely cognitive tests all correlated with general ability, while the musical, bodily-kinesthetic and one intrapersonal measure did not. Kitchener et al. (1993) found that performance rises with contextual support and practice. (observational)
People do differ in aptitude and temperament, and some gaps are not closed by practice. Rewriting a label as a skill is a way to test it, not a promise that any capacity can be built to any level.
Sources
- Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books.
- Waterhouse, L. (2006). Multiple Intelligences, the Mozart Effect, and Emotional Intelligence: A Critical Review. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 207–225.
- Gardner, H., & Moran, S. (2006). The Science of Multiple Intelligences Theory: A Response to Lynn Waterhouse. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 227–232.
- Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2006). Beyond g: Putting multiple intelligences theory to the test. Intelligence, 34(5), 487–502.
- Kitchener, K. S., Lynch, C. L., Fischer, K. W., & Wood, P. K. (1993). Developmental range of reflective judgment: The effect of contextual support and practice on developmental stage. Developmental Psychology, 29(5), 893–906.
Erreur fréquente
Swapping one fixed label for another ("I’m actually a late bloomer at feelings"). The point is to describe a skill and a situation precisely enough to practise, not to find a kinder identity.
Pratiquez cela avec IX Coach
Plus de pratiques pour Lines of Development: Why People Grow Unevenly
- Find which capacity drops out in one recurring situation
Instead of asking where you are "undeveloped" in general, pin down the one situation where you reliably act younger and name the capacity that goes missing there.
- Sketch your psychograph from evidence, with someone who knows you
Rate each capacity from recent incidents rather than self-image, have someone who knows you rate it blind, and decide line by line whose view to trust more.
- Don’t let one strong line pass for overall maturity
When someone is outstanding in one capacity — usually intelligence or charisma — check the other lines separately before trusting their judgment in areas that need them.
- Work the gap between what you can do with support and alone
Find a capacity you show only when someone scaffolds you, practise it with that support, and then thin the support out in steps.
- Check which prerequisite is missing when knowing doesn’t become doing
When you understand a principle and still don’t live it, check separately whether you can reason it through, see the other person’s side, and act on it under pressure.
- Ask for feedback one domain at a time
Replace "How am I doing?" with one specific question per capacity, asked of the people who see that capacity most.
Concepts associés
- Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory (AQAL), Made Practical
Five elements for catching what your view of a situation leaves out, held as a map rather than a truth
- La théorie sujet-objet de Kegan, en pratique
Passer d'être mené par ses présupposés à pouvoir les examiner
- Terri O’Fallon’s STAGES Model, Made Practical
Twelve stages built from three repeating questions, and how to work with the one you are in
- Ego Development Theory: What It Is and How It Is Measured
The frame you make meaning through, how researchers measure it, and how to work with it without ranking anyone