Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsA Note on Intelligence TestingExamples of Visual-Spatial IntelligenceAssessing Visual-Spatial IntelligenceDeveloping Visual-Spatial IntelligenceExercising Your Visual-Spatial Intelligence Muscles

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

A Note on Intelligence Testing

Examples of Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Assessing Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Developing Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Exercising Your Visual-Spatial Intelligence Muscles

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While the field of psychology has struggled for decades to come to an agreement on a comprehensive definition of “intelligence,” it is generally recognized that people have varying innate abilities when it comes to acquiring certain skills and knowledge.

Visual-spatial intelligence is one such set of skills that includes the ability to perceive, hold, manipulate, and problem-solve from visual information. When you put together a puzzle, you use visual-spatial skills to identify which pieces have similar colors that go near each other or similar shapes that will fit together.

The concept of visual-spatial intelligence is part ofHoward Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences,which posits that there are multiple ways for someone to be “intelligent” and that different intelligences come with different strengths. Gardner believed that a singular theory of intelligence drastically overlooked many people’s skills.

Dr. Richard Kraft, Ph.D.and professor ofcognitive psychologyat Otterbein University, says that “Visual-spatial intelligence is our ability to think about the world in three dimensions. We use visual-spatial intelligence to find our way around and to manipulate mental images of objects and the spaces these objects are in. People with strong visual-spatial intelligence have a good sense of direction, and they know how parts fit together into a whole (like assembling furniture from IKEA).”

According to Dr. Kraft, “We can be accomplished at writing and talking (linguistic intelligence) but have a poor sense of direction (visual-spatial intelligence).” (He may have been talking about the author of this article.)

Learn more about the skills involved in visual-spatial intelligence, how to assess your own visual-spatial abilities, and tips for honing your visual-spatial skills.

First, a Note on Intelligence Testing

Additionally, the concept of “intelligence” has been used to justify involuntary sterilization of thousands of people on the grounds that they had “inferior” genetics and should not be permitted to reproduce.

Although people have varying levels of skill in different areas, and those who struggle in some areas might need support in order to live their best lives, using concepts like intelligence to decide who is “worthy” to reproduce is eugenicist and harmful.

According to Dr. Kraft, people who have strong visual-spatial intelligence “have a good sense of direction. They can solve puzzles more easily than other people, especially something like the Rubik’s Cube. They can walk into a house and imagine what it would look like after knocking out a wall. Understanding architecture and choreography and film directing comes easily to people with strong visual-spatialintelligence.”

On the other hand, those who struggle with visual-spatial abilities “often get lost, even in familiar spaces, even in buildings they’ve visited many times. They generally have a poor sense of direction and have difficulty thinking in three dimensions.”

When you problem-solve with visual information, put together pieces of a puzzle, or visualize something, you are tapping into your visual-spatial intelligence.

TheWechsler intelligence scales, including the Wechsler Intelligence System for Children, Fifth Edition, and theWechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, Fourth Edition, have Visual-Spatial Index scores which purport to indicate an individual’s visual-spatial intelligence.

Although these tests have the bias issues noted earlier in this article, they can serve as a starting point for assessing one’s ability to manipulate visual information. According to Dr. Kraft, “Standardized assessment usually takes the form of answering questions about drawings of abstract three-dimensional objects. Tests ask what an object or shape will look like if manipulated in some way—often after three-dimensional rotation.”

Dr. Kraft says that it is possible toself-evaluateyour visual-spatial skills. You can practice visualizing and manipulating information in your head, or you can see how you perform on visual puzzles and even time yourself as you attempt these problems.

He also recommends finding a quick online test that you can use to assess your visual-spatial intelligence. While online tests cannot definitively determine an individual’s cognitive abilities, they can be a fun starting point to getting to know your own strengths a bit better.

Dr. Kraft stated: “We probably cannotincreaseour raw visual-spatial intelligence, but we do learn to compensate.” He shared himself as an example: “As it happens, my visual spatial intelligence isn’t strong, and I have difficulty finding my way around. GPS has largely removed that problem.”

Those with weaker visual-spatial intelligence might also compensate because they are stronger in another intelligence. Per Dr. Kraft, someone who struggles with visual-spatial tasks but is good at memorization might be able to remember landmarks or other cues to help them with their sense of direction. Additionally, they can ask for help, such as having a friend go with them to new locations to ensure they do not get lost.

Although we may not be able to significantly change our intelligence, there are activities we can do to maximize our potential. We can also use these activities to mitigate cognitive decline as we age.

Skills that require using your visual-spatial intelligence include:

Theseactivitiescan both demonstrate your visual-spatial intelligence and allow you to flex your visual-spatial muscles and strengthen your skills in this area. These kinds of brain exercises can strengthen your skills and help you with your sense of direction, problem-solving, and mentally manipulating visual information.

Visual-spatial intelligence is only one of many potential strengths an individual can possess. You can use the activities described here to try and strengthen your visual-spatial abilities. Remember that there is more than one set of skills that goes into being “intelligent,” and struggling in one or many areas is not a personal failing.

4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Gardner H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books; 1999.Croizet JC.The Racism of Intelligence: How Mental Testing Practices Have Constituted an Institutionalized Form of Group Domination. Oxford University Press; 2012.Ajitha Reddy, The Eugenic Origins of IQ Testing: Implications for Post-Atkins Litigation, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 667 (2008) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol57/iss3/5Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss medical weekly, 140(1920), 266-272.

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Gardner H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books; 1999.Croizet JC.The Racism of Intelligence: How Mental Testing Practices Have Constituted an Institutionalized Form of Group Domination. Oxford University Press; 2012.Ajitha Reddy, The Eugenic Origins of IQ Testing: Implications for Post-Atkins Litigation, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 667 (2008) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol57/iss3/5Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss medical weekly, 140(1920), 266-272.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Gardner H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books; 1999.Croizet JC.The Racism of Intelligence: How Mental Testing Practices Have Constituted an Institutionalized Form of Group Domination. Oxford University Press; 2012.Ajitha Reddy, The Eugenic Origins of IQ Testing: Implications for Post-Atkins Litigation, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 667 (2008) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol57/iss3/5Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss medical weekly, 140(1920), 266-272.

Gardner H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books; 1999.

Croizet JC.The Racism of Intelligence: How Mental Testing Practices Have Constituted an Institutionalized Form of Group Domination. Oxford University Press; 2012.

Ajitha Reddy, The Eugenic Origins of IQ Testing: Implications for Post-Atkins Litigation, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 667 (2008) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol57/iss3/5

Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss medical weekly, 140(1920), 266-272.

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