Spatial Intelligence: Meaning, Examples, Activities, & More

Spatial intelligence is one of the oldest kinds of intelligence, dating back to the dawn of humanity before language was developed. It has always been one of the main ways we make sense of the world, as well as change and manipulate our surroundings.

As a result, psychologists have been aware of its existence for a long time, but proper research only started in the late 20th century.

In this article, we will review the currently available information on spatial intelligence, help you recognize its characteristics, and show you how to improve it.

So, let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways

• Visual-spatial intelligence allows you to perceive and process visual information and visualize 2D and 3D objects using only your mind’s eye.
• People with high spatial intelligence excel at navigating, solving jigsaw puzzles, recognizing visual patterns, and visualizing complex mental images.
• You should use maps, draw 3D objects, play chess, solve puzzles, and practice origami to improve spatial intelligence.
• Examples of high spatial intelligence in history include artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.

What Is Spatial Intelligence?

What Is Spatial Intelligence?

Spatial intelligence is the ability to perceive the world using our vision, recognize faces, notice fine details, and recreate objects in our minds even when they are absent from our surroundings. In addition, it helps us navigate space and find our way around new environments.

In other words, spatial intelligence is all about understanding the physical world as well as the objects within it and the relationships between them.

Although spatial intelligence has existed as long as humanity itself, Howard Gardner, an American psychologist, was the first to officially recognize and define it in 1983.

In his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner described the first seven types of intelligence, emphasizing the importance of spatial intelligence. After all, we wouldn’t be able to navigate space or perceive and interpret visual data without spatial intelligence.

Considering how much spatial intelligence relies on vision, many wonder if blindness affects it. However, according to Gardner, people with visual impairments rely on their tactile senses to experience space around them, which allows them to create mental images just as effectively as everyone else.

Characteristics of People With High Spatial Intelligence

People with high spatial intelligence are usually characterized by a deep understanding of physical space and the relationships between objects within it. As a result, these people excel at the arts, architecture, design, and engineering.

Here are some typical characteristics of people with high spatial intelligence:

• Excellent at navigating. People with high spatial intelligence can easily find their way around a city, even if they’ve never visited it before. In addition, they have a particular talent for interpreting maps and figuring out where they are using landmarks and other checkpoints.
• Enjoy the visual arts. Painters, sculptors, and other visual artists usually score high in visual intelligence. That’s not surprising, either—they need a superb sense of space, perspective, and form to be successful in their professions.
• Great at jigsaw puzzles. To complete a jigsaw, you must visualize the final result and determine how each piece fits into the overall picture. People with high spatial intelligence have an easier time with this, so they can frequently be found solving giant 1000-piece puzzles for fun.
• Appreciate architecture. People with high spatial intelligence may be particularly inclined to observe buildings and structures and appreciate their forms. Even if they don’t know much about architecture, they still have an excellent sense of it.
• Superb pattern recognition. Thanks to their keen eye for details, people with high spatial intelligence can quickly spot relationships between objects and events and recognize patterns. This skill comes in handy on IQ tests, which usually include tasks with pattern recognition.
• Great at visualizing. Not only does high spatial intelligence allow you to quickly visualize and manipulate objects in your mind, but it also helps you imagine complex mental images. That’s precisely why so many artists have particularly impressive spatial intelligence.

How to Improve Spatial Intelligence

To improve spatial intelligence, you need to focus on activities that put you in direct contact with shapes and objects in the physical world. As you become more acquainted with them, your sense of your surroundings will grow, and you’ll have an easier time visualizing even without a physical stimulus.

Here are some activities you should try to boost your spatial intelligence.

#1. Solve Jigsaw Puzzles

A person solving a jigsaw puzzle

The relationship between jigsaw puzzles and spatial intelligence is mutually beneficial—people with high spatial intelligence excel at solving them, and, at the same time, puzzles help boost spatial intelligence.

As mentioned before, jigsaw puzzles require you to envision what a particular picture should look like and where each piece should fit. Even if your spatial intelligence isn’t exceptionally high, the more puzzles you solve, the better you’ll become at visualization.

However, jigsaws aren’t the only type of puzzle that can help. Rubik’s cubes and tangrams are also excellent choices, especially if you need variety.

#2. Use Maps

Using a map to enhance spatial intelligence

Thanks to GPS and Google Maps, everyone can find their way around the city nowadays, whether they have highly developed spatial intelligence or not. All you have to do is type in the destination and let the app show you exact directions.

However, if you want to improve your spatial intelligence, consider buying a paper map and using it to navigate instead. That way, you’ll train your brain to make connections between the 2D representation on the map and the actual 3D streets and landmarks in reality.

Google Maps can also serve this purpose, but try not to use the Directions feature. Instead, use it as a regular map and decide which route to take on your own.

#3. Draw 3D Geometry

A ruler and pen on a desk

Drawing 3D geometry will improve your ability to visualize objects from various angles. Start with something simple—like a cube, cone, or square pyramid—and slowly progress to more complex shapes as your spatial intelligence improves.

However, keep in mind not to draw these objects from just one angle. The key aspect of this exercise is rotating 3D geometry in your mind and figuring out what you’d see from this new view.

Once you master geometry, you can move on to more complicated drawings, such as faces, plants, or landscapes, where you can play with perspective.

#4. Play Chess

A person playing chess and increases spatial intelligence

Chess benefits your brain in many ways: it develops your IQ, boosts your mental agility, and improves your logical-mathematical intelligence all at once.

On top of that, chess is a fantastic activity for increasing spatial intelligence. It’s a very visual game that forces you to picture the position of each piece a few moves in advance and adjust your mental image as the game progresses.

The better you are at this process, the more skilled you become at chess. In fact, top chess players can play an entire game blindfolded and still win!

#5. Practice Origami

A red dragon origami

Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, can turn a single square of paper into a sculpture. The possibilities for creation are endless, but origami artists must have a superb sense of shapes and understand how each piece fits together to make a whole.

Of course, no one expects you to fold complicated pieces right off the bat. Start with something simple, like a crane, until you begin to understand how origami works. Then, you can slowly progress to more complex creations, improving your spatial intelligence at the same time.

3 Famous People With High Spatial Intelligence

The following three artists may have all lived at different times and had unique styles, but what they all have in common is exceptionally high spatial intelligence, which allowed them to create timeless masterpieces that still impress and inspire.

#1. Leonardo da Vinci

The Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci is best known for his talent to visualize and capture even the most minute details in painting. His numerous masterpieces, the most famous of which are the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, are a testament to that ability.

However, Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t just a painter—he was a Renaissance man of many talents. He also left his mark on history as a sculptor, architect, and engineer, exhibiting his superb visual-spatial intelligence in every field.

In addition to being incredibly talented, Leonardo da Vinci is considered one of the smartest people to have ever lived, with an estimated IQ of 180 to 220.

#2. Vincent Van Gogh

Unlike Da Vinci, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh isn’t known for hyperrealistic and incredibly detailed paintings that accurately depict proportions and perspective. Instead, his paintings use vivid colors and styles that strive to express feelings and moods rather than capture reality.

That’s not to say Van Gogh is any less talented than Da Vinci. In fact, he had to become the master of shapes, space, and proportions to be able to play with them as successfully as he did. This is confirmed by paintings such as The Potato Eaters or Cafe Terrace at Night—some of his more realistic works.

#3. Pablo Picasso

All art movements require developed spatial intelligence, but cubism, created by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, is on a whole new level. Cubists must be able to picture an object from various angles and represent it all in a single painting, mainly relying on geometric shapes.

The essence of the movement is captured in Picasso’s most famous work, Guernica, which uses cubist techniques to depict the careless bombing of a Spanish town in the Spanish Civil War and the horrors that ensued.

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Top 5 Jobs for People With High Spatial Intelligence

Top jobs for people with high spatial intelligence typically include work with 2D or 3D objects, space, perspective, and visual elements. Below are some of the best careers for high spatial intelligence.

#1. Architect

Architect as one of the best jobs for people with spatial intelligence

An architect must have a superb feeling for space and all three of its dimensions, as well as for various elements of construction and their relations to other objects. Most importantly, they must be able to visualize all this and successfully transfer it to paper or software of their choice.

Therefore, it’s hardly a surprise that most architects have high spatial intelligence, or, if they don’t initially, they must develop it throughout their career.

#2. Graphic Designer

A graphic designer making designs on the computer

Graphic designers work with various visual elements to create the perfect imagery that convinces customers to buy a certain service or product.

As a result, they’re usually employed by marketing agencies, magazines, media houses, and other employers that need creative visuals for various purposes.

Unsurprisingly, graphic designers need to be particularly creative and understand where to place each element of the design for maximum effect. That’s only possible with high spatial intelligence, which allows them to skillfully manipulate colors, fonts, and the overall composition.

#3. Engineer

Engineering meeting where people have high spatial intelligence

Similarly to architects, engineers must be able to visualize a 3D object along with its components and parts and understand how they all work together. The difference is that architects design structures, while most engineers deal with products, machines, infrastructure, and systems.

So, aside from logical-mathematical intelligence, without which they can’t accurately perform the required calculations, engineers also need high spatial intelligence.

#4. Artist

A woman drawing a house outside

As we’ve seen, some of the world’s most famous artists are perfect examples of high spatial intelligence, which they use to capture reality or abstract it into its components and basic shapes.

And it’s not just artists of Da Vinci’s caliber that need high spatial intelligence to practice their craft. All artists benefit from the ability to visualize their subject even when it’s not there, as well as understand how proportions and perspective work.

#5. Cartographer

Maps and cartography for people with high spatial intelligence

Although the age of paper maps seems to be behind us, cartographers still play a vital role in society. The nature of their job changed—nowadays, they mostly work on creating digital maps for various platforms—but they certainly didn’t go extinct.

Regardless of the medium they use, cartographers need high spatial intelligence to accurately transform a 3D environment into a 2D map that contains all the necessary elements to help people navigate an unfamiliar place.

Final Thoughts

Spatial intelligence tends to be neglected in the curriculum—schools don’t usually include activities that increase it, nor are there any tests for spatial intelligence. Yet, this type of intelligence is crucial for our brain’s development and understanding of our surroundings.

So, it’s important to work on your spatial intelligence on your own, either by solving puzzles or using your spatial skills in real life as frequently as possible. As time goes by, your mental prowess will improve, and you’ll have a far easier time navigating and thinking on your feet.