Many times, when we think of intelligence comes to mind the image of academic intelligence, that is, a good student with a high note, a person with a university degree or a scientist who devotes himself to research, but this way of seeing intelligence does not include everything that comes with this psychological process. Today we will talk specifically about executive intelligence.
We know that there are multiple intelligences and that we understand them as the ability to interpret the information that comes to us from abroad, to integrate it with our internal experiences and to give the best response to the conditions in which we find ourselves. Faced.
- Psychologists understand intelligence much more than the IQ.
- Identifying it with the individual’s ability to adapt to the environment in which it is located.
- That is.
- Executive intelligence is the ability to know how to make decisions.
- To slow down our impulses.
- To think about how we feel.
- And think.
- How to plan our actions and direct our attention.
All these skills together form great traits that we call executive intelligence, in this article we will explain in a simple way what executive intelligence is and how you can take advantage of it.
First, it should be noted that when looking for information on the biological basis of executive intelligence, it is very likely that we will encounter the term executive functions, in fact, executive intelligence has been studied separately, competence by skill or function by function, which is why scientific articles on this subject often speak of executive functions rather than intelligence , however, the term executive intelligence is correct and refers to the use of all functions as a whole.
Thus, the study of this type of intelligence at the physiological level directs our attention to the frontal lobe, especially our prefrontal cortex (impulse control and decision-making), let’s say it is the frontal lobe that directs and governs the rest of the conscious functions. of our brains.
We know all this because people who suffer strokes, or even neural accidents in the frontal lobe, lose their executive function or suffer serious injuries.
The scientific literature has several documented cases of how a frontal lobe injury causes problems such as continuous distraction, the inability to plan routine sequences of normal life, remember what it was doing and why, and above all know how to stop impulses.
In this sense, it is well known the case of Phineas Gage (Ratiu et al. , 2004), who suffered damage in part of his frontal lobe as a result of an accident, who remained alive, but lost what made him more human: executive intelligence.
“Executive intelligence is the ability to know how to make decisions, to stop impulses, to think about how it feels and what it thinks, how to plan its actions, and how to direct its attention. “
Self-control is one of the main components of executive intelligence, the frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex, close to orbits) is responsible for regulating our behavior, assessing the possible consequences of our actions and thus telling us what to do in each case. Situation.
That is, the weight of education and cultural pressure falls on the frontal lobe and is part of executive intelligence, this is one of the hypotheses considered to explain that people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are treated with stimulants that make their frontal lobe work. Louder.
The regulation of our behaviors is part of executive intelligence, knowing how to shut up at the right time and being able to stop an impulse, so if we let ourselves go we will be injured, it is executive intelligence. intelligence is associated with the ability to know when to act and when it is better to “do nothing. “
Thus, executive intelligence is associated with the ability to control impulsivity, so one way to train this type of skill is to propose improving self-control, for example, when you feel like doing something (buying, drinking or eating something), just stop for two seconds and think: what are you going to do and why?it can help a lot to gain self-control and improve this component of executive intelligence, so you can train your regulatory ability and thus work to have better executive intelligence.
Working memory was conceptualized by Baddeley (1974) and refers to a broader process than the knowledge storage function, working memory is the type of memory we use to develop reasoning, to remember things in the short term, and that’s what allows us to develop action and decision-making plans.
Let’s say it’s the type of memory on computers we call processor or CPU, working memory allows us to process a lot of information at the same time and thus analyze everything together to know what to do, how we feel and what we are. the next steps to follow.
Why is working memory part of executive intelligence ?, because it allows us to establish relationships between different elements and, from them, make decisions, so it is working memory that allows information to integrate, reason and come to a conclusion, including information of different natures So one way to improve your working memory can be to make mental calculations.
Part of executive intelligence is being able to make informed decisions as quickly as possible; an intelligent decision-making process evaluates the pros and cons of each option; at the same time, it does so at a depth level that allows it to be ideal. . A person with good executive intelligence knows how to make decisions and does so in a timely and appropriate manner.
The decision-making process we carry out from executive intelligence implies a great ability to consider a scenario beyond reality and to evolve mentally in the different possible scenarios.
On the other hand, we also find planning skills as a component of executive intelligence. Executive intelligence is responsible for developing plans and strategies to achieve goals through the planning component.
Knowing how to plan is an indispensable skill for various activities of daily life, in addition, it is necessary at key moments, such as studying, finding work, self-employment or starting a family, for all these situations we use our executive intelligence and, therefore, it is very useful for performing exercises that favor planning and creating strategies.
“Part of executive intelligence is being able to make informed decisions, but at the same time at the right time. “
Developed executive intelligence allows us to adjust our ideas to the changes we are experiencing in our reality, in this sense psychologists know that it is very healthy to change their minds, because change of heart is a sign of cognitive flexibility, and allows us to adapt what we think or plan to the circumstances of the moment.
In addition, being cognitively flexible is linked to a greater ability to manage frustration, because with this flexibility, we can change the way we try to achieve a goal without changing the goal.
Likewise, very intelligent people at the executive level have a great capacity to adapt to adversity, and this is due to their great cognitive flexibility, that is, we mean that if you have a plan and things do not go according to plan, Stick to the goal and change the plan.
To have greater cognitive flexibility and therefore improve your executive intelligence, you can perform exercises that take you out of your comfort zone, change the steps in your daily routine and expand your personal interests. The more different stimuli your mind receives, the more flexibility you can have.
This component of executive intelligence is perhaps what distinguishes us most as human beings, thanks to it you can think in abstract terms, “things?That they do not exist in the physical world, but that exist in the mind or in turn, we can also think about what we think (metacognition). Abstract reasoning is what allows us to work on our emotions, feelings, doubts, fears and other psychological aspects.
In addition, executive intelligence allows us to make sense of our lives, which fuels our mental health, it is abstract reasoning that helps us feel that our existence is worthwhile, which leads us to think that we must enjoy every minute we dedicate. Without this ability of abstract reasoning, we would have an overly pragmatic and meaningless life, on the other hand, to improve abstract reasoning, you can train your introspection skills, as well as study and read about topics related to philosophy and art.
Finally, remember that executive intelligence is a different way of understanding intelligence itself, the greatest advantage of this approach is that it allows the formation of its various components and impacts on the quality of life of people, that is, executive intelligence is part of a new paradigm to improve the individual’s adaptation to the world around him. Cheer up and train your executive intelligence!