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Personal Intelligence

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Definition

Personal intelligence has been defined as the capacity to reason about personalities, both one’s own and others’, and to use personality-based information to influence one’s plans and actions (Mayer 2008, 2014). According to the model, personal intelligence involves four key areas of problem-solving:

(a) to recognize personally relevant information from introspection and from observing oneself and others, (b) to form that information into accurate models of personality, (c) to guide one’s choices by using personality information where relevant, and (d) to systematize one’s goals, plans, and life stories for good outcomes. Mayer (2008, p. 215)

Introduction

One way that people use personal intelligence is to predict one another’s behaviors – such as how prompt a person will be. For example, when Angela planned to carpool with her sister, Lindsay, to their parents’ house Angela made sure that she was ready early. Angela knew that Lindsay frequently became upset if others were...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, OR, USA

    Kateryna M. Sylaska

  2. Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    Jayne L. Allen & John D. Mayer

Authors
  1. Kateryna M. Sylaska
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  2. Jayne L. Allen
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  3. John D. Mayer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kateryna M. Sylaska .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Charlie Reeve

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Sylaska, K.M., Allen, J.L., Mayer, J.D. (2017). Personal Intelligence. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2275-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2275-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Personal Intelligence
    Published:
    25 August 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2275-2

  2. Original

    Personal Intelligence
    Published:
    28 January 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2275-1

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