Multiple Intelligences
Moral Development
Dr. Howard Gardner is a professor of
neuroscience at Harvard. He believes that
children are all gifted in some way, and
disagrees with the conventional use of talented
and gifted programs in public schools, which
only award mathematical or language talents.

He first theorized 7 different types of
intelligences. His first seven were:
Logical/ Mathematical
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Visual/ Spatial
Verbal/ Linguistic
Bodily/ Kinesthetic
Musical

Then, he decided to add:
Naturalist

Finally, (I think), he has added:
Existential

He believes that everyone has all of these, but
that one is generally the strongest within each
person. There may be additional ones, as well.

Take this test to see what your intelligence is.
Then come back here and you can look at the
powerpoints about each intelligence. Does it
seem like you? Do you have more than one
strength?
NATURALIST

_____  I enjoy categorizing things by common traits

_____  Ecological issues are important to me

_____  Classification helps me make sense of new data

_____  I enjoy working in a garden

_____  I believe preserving our National Parks is important

_____  Putting things in hierarchies makes sense to me

_____  Animals are important in my life

_____  My home has a recycling system in place

_____  I enjoy studying biology, botany and/or zoology

_____  I pick up on subtle differences in meaning

_____  
TOTAL for NATURALIST

________________________________________________________
MUSICAL

_____  I easily pick up on patterns

_____  I focus in on noise and sounds

_____  Moving to a beat is easy for me

_____  I enjoy making music

_____  I respond to the cadence of poetry

_____  I remember things by putting them in a rhyme

_____  Concentration is difficult for me if there is background noise

_____  Listening to sounds in nature can be very relaxing

_____  Musicals are more engaging to me than dramatic plays

_____  Remembering song lyrics is easy for me

_____  
TOTAL for MUSICAL

________________________________________________________

LOGICAL/ MATHEMATICAL

_____  I am known for being neat and orderly

_____  Step-by-step directions are a big help

_____  Problem solving comes easily to me

_____  I get easily frustrated with disorganized people

_____  I can complete calculations quickly in my head

_____  Logic puzzles are fun

_____  I can't begin an assignment until I have all my "ducks in a row"

_____  Structure is a good thing

_____  I enjoy troubleshooting something that isn't working properly

_____  Things have to make sense to me or I am dissatisfied

_____  
TOTAL for LOGICAL/ MATHEMATICAL

________________________________________________________
EXISTENTIAL

_____  It is important to see my role in the “big picture” of things

_____  I enjoy discussing questions about life

_____  Religion is important to me

_____  I enjoy viewing art work

_____  Relaxation and meditation exercises are rewarding to me

_____  I like traveling to visit inspiring places

_____  I enjoy reading philosophers

_____  Learning new things is easier when I see their real world
application

_____  I wonder if there are other forms of intelligent life in the
universe

_____  It is important for me to feel connected to people, ideas and
beliefs

_____
TOTAL for EXISTENTIAL

________________________________________________________

INTERPERSONAL

_____  I learn best interacting with others

_____  I enjoy informal chat and serious discussion

_____  The more the merrier

_____  I often serve as a leader among peers and colleagues

_____  I value relationships more than ideas or accomplishments

_____  Study groups are very productive for me

_____  I am a “team player”

_____  Friends are important to me

_____  I belong to more than three clubs or organizations

_____  I dislike working alone

_____
TOTAL for INTERPERSONAL

________________________________________________________
 
BODILY/ KINESTHETIC

_____  I learn by doing

_____  I enjoy making things with my hands

_____  Sports are a part of my life

_____  I use gestures and non-verbal cues when I communicate

_____  Demonstrating is better than explaining

_____  I love to dance

_____  I like working with tools

_____  Inactivity can make me more tired than being very busy

_____  Hands-on activities are fun

_____  I live an active lifestyle

_____
TOTAL for BODILY/ KINESTHETIC

________________________________________________________

VERBAL/ LINGUISTIC

_____  Foreign languages interest me

_____  I enjoy reading books, magazines and web sites

_____  I keep a journal

_____  Word puzzles like crosswords or jumbles are enjoyable

_____  Taking notes helps me remember and understand

_____  I faithfully contact friends through letters and/or e-mail

_____  It is easy for me to explain my ideas to others

_____  I write for pleasure

_____  Puns, anagrams and spoonerisms are fun

_____  I enjoy public speaking and participating in debates

_____
TOTAL for VERBAL/ LINGUISTIC

________________________________________________________

INTRAPERSONAL

_____  My attitude effects how I learn

_____  I like to be involved in causes that help others

_____  I am keenly aware of my moral beliefs

_____  I learn best when I have an emotional attachment to the subject

_____  Fairness is important to me

_____  Social justice issues interest me

_____  Working alone can be just as productive as working in a group

_____  I need to know why I should do something before I agree to do
it

_____  When I believe in something I give more effort towards it

_____  I am willing to protest or sign a petition to right a wrong

_____
TOTAL for INTRAPERSONAL

________________________________________________________

VISUAL/ SPATIAL

_____  Rearranging a room and redecorating are fun for me

_____  I enjoy creating my own works of art

_____  I remember better using graphic organizers

_____  I enjoy all kinds of entertainment media

_____  Charts, graphs and tables help me interpret data

_____  A music video can make me more interested in a song

_____  I can recall things as mental pictures

_____  I am good at reading maps and blueprints

_____  Three dimensional puzzles are fun

_____  I can visualize ideas in my mind

_____
TOTAL for VISUAL/ SPATIAL

________________________________________________________
Add up your totals for each section. The section with the most
checked is your personal strength. You may have more than one; that
is just fine!  

And now, watch the powerpoints (links below). They are really fun.
BODILY/ KINESTHETIC
EXISTENTIAL
INTERPERSONAL
INTRAPERSONAL
LOGICAL/ MATHEMATICAL
MUSICAL
NATURALIST
VERBAL/ LINGUISTIC
VISUAL/ SPATIAL
Dr. Lawrence Kohlberg was a professor at
Harvard. He came up with his Moral
Development Theory, based on a series of
moral steps that one must pass through in
order to attain the highest morality, or level
six. He developed this theory by assessing
young, white boys with a situation (see below)
and then rating their responses according to
his steps. He based much of his thought on
the work of Piaget and Dewey.

Kohlberg was challenged by many because of
his methodologies. Particularly noteworthy
was Carol Gilligan, who disagreed with
Kohlberg’s ideas that men could attain higher
levels of morality just on the basis of their
gender. She challenged him in many fabulous
writings.
LEVEL 1–Preconventional Morality (ages 4–10)
Moral value resides in a person’s own needs and
wants.

  
STAGE 1: OBEDIENCE and PUNISHMENT
ORIENTATION: Individual and moral judgment is
motivated by a need to avoid punishment.

  STAGE 2: INSTRUMENTAL-RELATIVIST
ORIENTATION: Individual and moral judgment is
motivated by a need to satisfy one’s own desires.

________________________________________
LEVEL 2–
Conventional Morality (ages 10–13)
Moral values reside in performing good or right
roles, in maintaining the convention order, and in
pleasing others.

  
STAGE 3: “GOOD BOY/NICE GIRL” ORIENTATION:
Individual’s moral judgment is motivated by a need to
avoid rejection, disaffection, or disapproval from others.

STAGE 4: LAW AND ORDER ORIENTATION:
Individual and moral judgment is motivated by a need to
not be criticized by a true authority figure.

________________________________________
LEVEL 3–
Postconventional Morality (adolescence–
adulthood)
Moral values reside in principles, separate from
those who hold apart from a person’s
identification with the enforcing group. Most
people never reach the last level.

  
STAGE 5: LEGALISTIC ORIENTATION: Individual
and moral judgment is motivated by community respect
for all, respecting social order, and living under legally
determined laws.

  STAGE 6: UNIVERSAL, ETHICAL ORIENTATION:
Individual and moral judgment is motivated by one’s
own conscience.
A woman was near death from a rare form of cancer.
There was one drug that doctors thought might save her:
a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had
recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2000–
ten times what the drug cost to manufacture. The sick
woman’s husband went to everyone he knew to raise the
money, but he could only get together about half of the
money. He explained to the druggist that his wife was
dying and asked him to sell him the medicine at a
reduced rate or let him pay the balance later. But the
druggist said, “No.” So the desperate husband chose to
break into the man’s store and steal the drug.
According to Kohlberg, here would be the typical
reactions to the situation, according to the level:

Stage 1 (need to avoid punishment):
 The husband should
not steal the drug because he would be punished by
authorities if he is caught.

Stage 2 (need to satisfy one's own desires): The husband
should steal the drug because he is worried about his wife
and will feel better if she is not sick.

Stage 3 (need to avoid rejection, disaffection, or
dissatisfaction from others):
The husband should steal the
drug because good husbands care about their wives. Other
people would disapprove if he let his wife die.

Stage 4 (need to not be criticized by  true authority
figure):
 The husband should not steal the drug because
stealing is against the law and the laws must be maintained
even at the expense of a personal loss.

Stage 5 (community respect; respect for order and law):
The husband should steal the drug because society places
more value on the right to have medicine than on the right to
make large profits. Everyone has the right to get needed
medicine regardless of the laws against stealing.

Stage 6 (motivated by one's own conscience): The
husband should steal the drug because a human life takes
precedence over any other moral or legal value.
What about these scenarios? What level is each
person acting on?

~Freddie does not drive faster than the speed
limit because that is the law and he would feel
bad if he were caught.

~Darren does not steal from stores because he
would be ashamed of himself for doing so.

~Sarah always obeys her teacher because she
would be embarrassed if she got into trouble.

~Robert donates to charity because his
conscience tells him to do so.

~In order to avoid time-out in nursery school,
Nolan does not steal snacks from the other kids.

~Carol does not smoke marijuana because it is
against the law.

~Genny does not talk during church service so
that her parents will give her a sucker afterward.

~Siobhan does not steal from department stores
because she wouldn't want her friends to think
of her as a thief.

~Ben picks up his toys so he won't have to go to
bed early.

~Hannah feels that it is her duty to vote in the
elections.

~Joseph always gives Aunt Brenda a big hug
when he sees her because she usually brings
candy for him.

~Rick rakes his neighbor's leaves because he
knows that they appreciate him doing it.

~Brianne volunteers to help in the soup kitchen
and her name is read at her church service the
next week.

~Larissa refuses to pay income taxes because
she does not believe that they are fair.

~Emily enjoys helping at a telephone crisis line
because she knows it is the right thing for her to
do.

~Seth cleans his room, in anticipation of his
parents' praise.

~Noah plays with his cousin Sarah so his parents
will be proud of him.

~Suzanne does not hit her younger brother so
her parents will not yell at her.