Take the ‘Intelligence Test’ To Learn Which Best Describes Your Big Brain

Being deemed smart is a highly sought-after trait, and one that few folks realize is multilayered—that is, there are a number of different ways a person can be smart. According to one framework, there are eight types of intelligence humans can possess: linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic intelligence. Each offer their own strengths and value, and the good news is that you can take the ‘types of intelligence test’ to learn which ones best describe you.

Officially called the Multiple Intelligences and Learning Style Test, the quiz, available on Psychology Today, is made up of 33 questions and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete (per the test’s website). It’s based on the concept of multiple intelligences, created in 1983 by developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, PhD, a professor of education at Harvard University.

Though it’s been decades since the advent of Dr. Gardner’s theory, clinical psychologist Joshua Klapow, PhD, agrees that taking the types of intelligence test can help folks get a better and fuller snapshot of themselves than a less precise, general, un-layered understanding of “smartness” might. “The smart-type test really gives people a better understanding and perspective on what intelligence is or can be,” says Dr. Klapow. “Intelligence is very broad and the definition of [it] is not specific. It can be applied in many different ways.”

“[Intelligence] can be applied in many different ways.” —psychologist Joshua Klapow, PhD

But, to make sure you get the best picture of your intelligence from the test, it’s crucial to be honest with yourself as you take it. “This isn’t something that you answer in a ‘socially desirable’ manner. This only works if you answer the questions truthfully and very personally,” says Dr. Klapow.

Also important to note is that Dr. Klapow says a person’s results aren’t actually measuring their intelligence in a matter-of-fact way. “The people who score really high on any of these—that doesn’t mean you’re going to [use it], it means you have the potential to,” he says. (Read: Making these traits work for you depends, well, on you.)