Read the passage and answer the following questions:
Somika is a wonderful dancer. Everyone appreciates her flexible body movements. She moves her body so gracefully that every dance step depicts a meaning. She is very good at making friends. She takes care of others' feelings and at the same time she knows her interest. She makes decisions that help her in organising and prioritizing things. However she avoids attending Maths and Science classes because she gets scolding for not completing her work, not understanding the concept and scoring less marks.
According to the theory of multiple intelligence, Somika's graceful dance performance shows that she is high in-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
Option (1) Musical Intelligence — Incorrect. Musical intelligence is the capacity to produce, create and manipulate musical patterns; such persons are very sensitive to sounds and vibrations. The passage praises Somika’s body movements, not her sense of music.
Option (2) Spatial Relations — Incorrect. ‘Spatial relations’ (visualising patterns and forms) is one of Thurstone’s seven primary mental abilities, not a type in Gardner’s theory, which the question asks about. Gardner’s nearest type, spatial intelligence, is about forming and using mental images, as pilots and architects do.
Option (3) Naturalistic intelligence — Incorrect. Naturalistic intelligence is an awareness of our relationship with the natural world, seen in recognising the features of plants and animals; hunters, farmers and bird watchers have more of it.
Option (4) Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence — Correct. This intelligence is the ability to use the whole body or portions of it flexibly and creatively. Somika’s flexible body movements, with every dance step depicting a meaning, are this intelligence at work; dancers, athletes and actors are typical of it.
NCERT (2025-26): “Theory of Multiple Intelligences … Musical (an ability to produce and manipulate musical rhythms and patterns) : It is the capacity to produce, create and manipulate musical patterns. Persons high on this intelligence are very sensitive to sounds and vibrations, and in creating new patterns of sounds.…” “…Bodily-Kinaesthetic (an ability to use whole or portions of the body flexibly and creatively) : This consists of the use of the whole body or portions of it for display or construction of products and problem solving. Athletes, dancers, actors, sportspersons, gymnasts, and surgeons are likely to have such kind of intelligence.…” “…Naturalistic (an ability to identify the features of the natural world) : This involves complete awareness of our relationship with the natural world. It is useful in recognising the beauty of different species of flora and fauna, and making subtle discriminations in the natural world.…” “Theories of Intelligence … Spearman’s theory was followed by Louis Thurstone’s theory. He proposed the theory of primary mental abilities. It states that intelligence consists of seven primary abilities, each of which is relatively independent of the others. These primary abilities are: (i) Verbal Comprehension (grasping meaning of words, concepts, and ideas), (ii) Numerical Abilities (speed and accuracy in numerical and computational skills), (iii) Spatial Relations (visualising patterns and forms), (iv) Perceptual Speed (speed in perceiving details), (v) Word Fluency (using words fluently and flexibly), (vi) Memory (accuracy in recalling information), and (vii) Inductive Reasoning (deriving general rules from presented facts).…” |