Robert Sternberg
American psychologist and professor of human development at Cornell
American psychologist known for the triarchic theory of intelligence, which adds creative and practical intelligence to analytical ability, and the triangular theory of love, which describes love as intimacy, passion and commitment.
Why this person matters
Sternberg argued that IQ tests miss abilities that matter in life, and his work on intelligence and on love appears in introductory courses. Both theories have drawn empirical criticism. His editorship of a major journal ended in 2018 after complaints about his own publishing there.
Main contributions
Triarchic theory of intelligence
Set out in Beyond IQ (1985), the theory has componential, experiential and contextual parts, which correspond to analytical, creative and practical aspects of intelligence. Cornell describes a later version that adds wisdom as a fourth aspect, called successful intelligence.
Triangular theory of love
In a 1986 Psychological Review article he proposed that love has three components: intimacy, passion and commitment. Their strength and balance produce different kinds of love, and the Triangular Love Scale has since been used to measure them.
Assessments beyond IQ tests
Cornell reports that he and colleagues developed assessments within the triarchic framework to identify giftedness that IQ and other standardised tests do not measure.
Context and limits
Gottfredson (2003) argued that the triarchic theory lacks empirical support and that practical intelligence is better seen as task-specific knowledge than as a broad ability. Acker and Davis (1992) tested the love theory on an older sample and noted that Sternberg's original sample was limited in age and relationship length. In April 2018 he resigned as editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science after a petition of concern about heavy self-citation; he apologised for "lapses in judgment and mistakes". The Journal of Creative Behavior later published text recycling corrections for three of his papers.
In your introductory course
Thinking, language and intelligence.The triarchic theory appears in the intelligence chapter beside Gardner and Spearman; the triangular theory of love appears in social psychology chapters on relationships.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 7.4. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1975
He completed his PhD at Stanford and joined the Yale psychology department.
- 1985
He published Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence.
- 1986
He published his triangular theory of love in Psychological Review.
- 2017
He received the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science.
- 2018
He resigned as editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science in April.
Sources
- Cornell Human Ecology, Robert J. Sternberg receives lifetime achievement awardUniversity. Institutional biography inspected.
- Encyclopedia.com, Sternberg, Robert J(effrey) 1949-Reference work. Reference article inspected.
- Inside Higher Ed, report on Sternberg's resignation as editor (April 2018)Publisher. Text passages inspected.
- Retraction Watch, journal says it will correct three papers by prominent psychologist for duplicationPublisher. Text passages inspected.
- Wikipedia, Robert SternbergReference work. Reference article inspected.
- Wikipedia, Triarchic theory of intelligenceReference work. Reference article inspected.
- Wikipedia, Triangular theory of loveReference work. Reference article inspected.