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Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner's 1983 book challenges the idea that intelligence is a single general capacity and proposes several distinct kinds. Paired with a 2006 critical review of the theory's empirical support.
- Author and origin
- Howard Gardner (United States)Original language: English. First published in 1983 by Basic Books (440 pages in the catalog record read). Later printings add new introductions, so page counts and front matter vary.
- Genre and form
- Academic (Scholarly monograph)Foundational scholarly monographs, experimental treatises, and theoretical volumes written for researchers and students.
- Pairing and evidence
- Contested claimsA work whose claims are disputed in the research literature. Each profile identifies the part of that dispute discussed here.
- Sources inspected
- 2 text/abstract inspected, 2 metadata checked (of 4)1 with the primary text or archive/edition record checked, 1 with an indexed abstract read, 2 with bibliographic metadata checked, 0 not verified.
Published critique or methodological auditPaired academic work
Source independence: Independent of the book’s author.
How it connects: A published critical review of multiple intelligences theory, the theory introduced in this book. It is one critic's argument and is not a replication of Gardner's work.
Exact claim scope: Scoped to the indexed abstract (OpenAlex record): the review's own argument that the theory lacks adequate empirical support. The full article, Gardner's responses and supportive studies were not read.
The work and edition history
Frames of Mind was published by Basic Books in 1983 and is the book in which Howard Gardner set out his theory of multiple intelligences. Harvard's Project Zero lists a later edition with a new introduction, so a modern copy may differ from the 1983 text.
Psychological reading
Harvard Project Zero's page says Gardner "challenges the widely held notion that intelligence is a single general capacity." A secondary reference adds that the theory names several distinct kinds of intelligence, with linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical and spatial given as examples, and that educators have embraced it. Questions to bring: What would make a skill count as an intelligence instead of a talent or an interest? What kind of evidence would show two abilities are separate and not just related? If a theory is popular with teachers, what does that say, and not say, about its evidence?
Why it earns inclusion
Many students meet multiple intelligences in education courses before they meet the research on intelligence testing. Reading the book's claim beside a published critique separates what the theory proposes from what the evidence has been said to support.
Academic pairing and claim scope
Paired with Lynn Waterhouse's 2006 review in Educational Psychologist, "Multiple Intelligences, the Mozart Effect, and Emotional Intelligence: A Critical Review." Its abstract argues that, despite wide use in education, these theories lack adequate empirical support, and compares each with counterparts in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. This is one critic's published position, read at abstract level. Gardner's replies and supportive studies were not inspected, so the pairing does not settle the question.
Limits and controversies
The premise comes from a Harvard Project Zero page, a library record and a secondary reference. The book's criteria for an intelligence and its full list of intelligences were not checked, so this record does not give them. The critique is a single review read through its abstract. A 1983 book cannot settle a research dispute, and how the theory is used in schools is a separate question from how well it is supported.
Evidence behind the claims
Open Library records Frames of Mind (subtitled the theory of multiple intelligences) as a 1983 Basic Books publication of 440 pages, LCCN 83070765.
Harvard Project Zero's resource page says Gardner challenges the widely held notion that intelligence is a single general capacity, and lists a tenth anniversary edition with a new introduction.
A secondary reference says the theory holds that intelligence is several distinct kinds, giving linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical and spatial as examples, and that educators have embraced it.
Waterhouse's indexed abstract argues that multiple intelligences theory, the Mozart effect and emotional intelligence theory lack adequate empirical support despite wide currency in education, and compares each with better supported counterparts in cognitive psychology and neuroscience.
Authors and researchers
- Howard Gardner. Psychologist; author of Frames of Mind.
In the Psy101 course
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 7.4: What Are Intelligence and Creativity?Chapter 7, Thinking and Intelligence. Concept. Suggested conceptual background; a mention of this work in the section has not been verified.Connects to chapter coverage of what intelligence is and how theories of it differ.
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 7.5: Measures of IntelligenceChapter 7, Thinking and Intelligence. Method. Suggested conceptual background; a mention of this work in the section has not been verified.Raises the question of how any proposed kind of intelligence would be measured.
Educational reading guide only, not clinical diagnosis or treatment guidance. This course map indicates introductory curriculum relevance rather than clinical proof.See the full course map.
Sources and inspection
Of 4 cited sources, 1 had primary text or archive/edition records checked, 1 had an indexed abstract read, and 2 had bibliographic metadata checked (0 unverified). Literary works and memoirs are distinguished from empirical research studies.
- [2]Education, H. G. S. of, & Zero, P. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (resource page). Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://pz.harvard.edu/resources/frames-of-mind-the-theory-of-multiple-intelligencesReference work. Work, edition, or catalog record.Bibliographic metadata or reference record checkedProject Zero page read on 2026-10-23. It names 1983 and 2011 and the claim about a single general capacity, but no list of intelligences and no publisher.
- [1]Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (open library edition record). Open Library (Internet Archive). https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3192147MArchive or library record. Work, edition, or catalog record.Edition, title-page, or archive record checkedOpen Library edition record read on 2026-10-23. catalog metadata only.
- [3]Theory of multiple intelligences. (2026). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theory_of_multiple_intelligences&oldid=1377450052Consulted sourceReference work. Historical or biographical context.Bibliographic metadata or reference record checkedWikipedia summary extract read on 2026-10-23. It does not discuss scientific criticism or the general intelligence factor, so no such claim is drawn from it. Secondary reference.
- [4]Waterhouse, L. (2006). Multiple intelligences, the mozart effect, and emotional intelligence: A critical review. Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4104_1Journal article. Published critique.Indexed abstract readIndexed abstract read on 2026-10-23 through OpenAlex (appeared complete). Full article not read.