Interestingly, among the many studies and analyses of practical intelligence presented in Sternberg and Wagner's (1986) book, almost no consideration is given to the place of emotions in coping with life's problems. A moment's reflection reveals that how individuals manage their emotions is a major factor in determining how effectively they can use their intellectual ability. If someone who exhibits great ability to solve problems in the quiet of an office is unable to function well under stress and experiences relationships with others as stressful, then it is obvious that such a person will be ineffective in a great many circumstances in everyday life. It was the observation of just such reactions that stimulated our interest in the issue of "why smart people think dumb." Students in a class on emotions and the self-concept taught by Seymour Epstein kept records of their most positive and negative emotional experiences each day. The material for class discussion often focused on these experiences. One cannot help but be impressed, when observing students in such a situation, with the degree to which some otherwise bright people lead their lives in a manifestly unintelligent and self-defeating manner. One is also apt to be impressed, as every psychotherapist well knows, with the degree to which such maladaptive behavior is resistant to correction by rational argument.

Harvard group was extremely selected, and that there was simply not enough range in intelligence to detect differences. Although the range of IQ was undoubtedly restricted, there was a considerable range of intellectual ability in the sample and a considerable range of success in living, so there was ample opportunity for a relation to be demonstrated if one existed. At the very least, one might have expected a significant, albeit small relation between intellectual ability and success in some domain. Yet, there was no evidence within any domain that intellectual ability was a significant predictor of success. The intellectually most gifted in college did not earn the most money if they became business executives, nor did they achieve the greatest recognition or productivity if they became professors.

In attempting to understand practical intelligence, we were influenced by a theory of personality called cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST; Epstein 1973, 1980a, in press). For present purposes, it is sufficient to note that, according to this theory, there are three semi-independent systems: a rational system, an experiential system, and an associationistic system. The rational system operates according to socially established rules of logic and consideration of evidence and functions mainly at the level of conscious awareness. The experiential system has its own rules of inference and evidence and operates primarily at the preconscious level. Relative to the rational system, it is more holistic, more loosely organized, more categorical, employs metaphor and imagery to a greater extent, is experienced passively and as self-evidently valid, and is intimately associated with emotions. Overall, it is oriented toward immediate action and processes information rapidly and more crudely than the rational system. The associationistic system, which can be observed in altered states of consciousness such as dreams, functions at an unconscious level of awareness and corresponds, to a large extent, to Freud's (1900/1965) conceptualization of primary process thinking.

Some topics in this essay:
Orientation Test, Inventory CTI, , CEST Epstein, Felsman Vaillant, Gruen DeLongis, Sternberg Wagner's, Seymour Epstein, Terman Oden, Cantor Kihlstrom, intellectual ability, constructive thinking, success living, practical intelligence, rational system, experiential system, physical well-being, destructive thinking, measures coping, love social relationships, including success, including success love, success love social, success living including, living including success,