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Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development pp 1548–1549Cite as

Visual-Spatial Intelligence

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Synonyms

Non-verbal intelligence; Visuo-spatial intelligence

Definition

The capacity to perceive the visual world accurately, and/or perform transformations and modifications on perceptions, construct mental representations of visual information, and use the representations to perform activities is often considered visual-spatial intelligence [2, 3, 5].

Description

Some professionals have erroneously designated visual-spatial intelligence as one of Gardner’s original seven multiple intelligences. These individuals are in fact referring to spatial intelligence. Gardner himself readily admits there is often a visual component to spatial intelligence. However, he differentiates between visual-spatial and spatial intelligence as he indicates other senses can be involved in spatial intelligence aside from sight. For instance, a blind individual, who has no access to the visual world, can develop spatial intelligence by utilizing the tactile modality of their perceptual system [3, 4]....

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ball State University, Municie, IN, USA

    Amy E. Zimmerman

  2. Neuropsychology Laboratory - TC 904, Ball State University, Teachers College Room 502K, Muncie, IN, 47306, USA

    Raymond S. Dean

Authors
  1. Amy E. Zimmerman
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  2. Raymond S. Dean
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center, 230 South 500 East, Suite 100, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102, USA

    Sam Goldstein Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology MS 2C6, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Jack A. Naglieri Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

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Zimmerman, A.E., Dean, R.S. (2011). Visual-Spatial Intelligence. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_3041

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