Grawemeyer Award winner, Robert Sternberg on Successful Intelligence

On this edition of Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, comes in off the hiking trail to take us back in time for another great lecture given at the University of Louisville this spring by Dr. Robert Sternberg, a professor of human development at both Tufts and Oklahoma State Universities. Dr. Sternberg won the 2018 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology for his concept of “successful intelligence” (introduced in a 1996 book by that title). His work has helped level the playing field for higher education applicants from diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Sternberg was selected for the prize for his view that intelligence encompasses several components that help people succeed in different ways in their own environments. Those components include analytical-reasoning skills, creative-thinking skills, common-sense practical skills and wisdom-based and ethical skills. A command of all those skills helps people adapt to a fast-changing world, capitalize on their strengths and compensate for or correct their weaknesses.

Professor Woody Petry, award director and a faculty member of UofL’s department of psychological and brain sciences, said that “Sternberg’s work has resulted in changes in college admission processes that have leveled the playing field for individuals from diverse backgrounds and, thus, has increased student diversity. His ideas, which have been applied globally in developed and developing nations, emphasize the importance of cultural context in the assessment of successful intelligence.”

More info about Robert Sternberg and his work is at www.robertjsternberg.com/

More info about the Grawemeyer Awards and the honorees is at grawemeyer.org/

Sustainability Now! airs on FORward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is used by permission from the fantastic Louisville band, Appalatin. Explore their inspiring music at www.appalatin.com

Source: Grawemeyer Award winner, Robert Sternberg on Successful Intelligence (Sustainability Now!, FORward Radio, July 30, 2018)