68 Studies King & DeCicco
A Viable Model and Self-Report Measure
of Spiritual Intelligence
A four-factor model of spiritual intelligence is first proposed. Supportive evidence is reviewed for the
capacities of critical existential thinking, personal meaning production, transcendental awareness,
and conscious state expansion. Based on this model, a 24-item self-report measure was developed
and modified across two consecutive studies (N = 619 and N = 304, respectively). The final version
of the scale, the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24), displayed excellent internal
reliability and good fit to the proposed model. Correlational analyses with additional measures of
meaning, metapersonal self-construal, mysticism, religiosity, and social desirability offer support
for construct and criterion-related validity. According to both intelligence criteria and current
psychometric standards, findings validate the proposed model and measure of spiritual intelligence.
Future directions are discussed.
The nature of human intelligence and its
psychological study have been areas of continuous
scientific debate (for a review, see Cianciolo &
Sternberg, 2004). Many have argued that the sum of
human intelligence is best described as a single construct,
such as the intelligence quotient (IQ), while others have
suggested multiple intelligences (Cianciolo & Sternberg,
2004; Gardner, 1983; Sternberg, 1988). Howard
Gardner, a leading advocate of the latter standpoint,
has proposed eight intelligences, including linguistic,
logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, naturalist, and
bodily-kinesthetic (Gardner, 1983, 1993, 1999). Recent
decades have also witnessed extensive literature on social
and emotional intelligences, which describe cognitive
abilities of emotional perception and management on
intra- and inter-personal levels (e.g., Gardner, 1983;
Goleman, 1995; Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2000;
Salovey & Mayer, 1990).
In order to evaluate potential additional
intelligences (e.g., moral intelligence; Gardner, 1993),
leading theorists have suggested rigid criteria that
must first be satisfied. It is generally established that
an intelligence should (1) include a set of moderately
interrelated mental abilities (i.e., core capacities for which
cognition is primary; those which are distinct from
preferred behaviors or traits), (2) facilitate adaptation,
problem-solving, and reasoning in all environmental
contexts, and (3) develop with age and experience
(Gardner, 1983; Mayer et al., 2000; Sternberg, 1997).
Gardner (1983) also recommended neurological/
biological evidence, evolutionary plausibility, and support
from psychometrics and experimental psychology.
Spiritual Intelligence
Of the additional intelligences proposed, the concept
of spiritual intelligence has remained a forerunner
in the past decade (Amram, 2007; Emmons, 2000a;
Nasel, 2004; Noble, 2000; Vaughan, 2002; Wolman,
2001; Zohar & Marshall, 2000). Emmons (2000a)
provided support for spiritual intelligence according to
Gardner’s (1983) criteria, proposing five core abilities:
1) the capacity for transcendent awareness (of a divine
being or oneself); 2) the ability to enter spiritual states
of consciousness; 3) the ability to sanctify everyday
experiences; 4) the ability to utilize spirituality to solve
problems; and 5) the capacity to engage in virtuous
behaviors (e.g., forgiveness). The last of these capacities
has since been removed (Emmons, 2000b) due to its
more accurate interpretation as preferred behavior
(Mayer, 2000).
Noble (2000) concurred with Emmons’ (2000a)
conception of spiritual intelligence and added two
additional core abilities: (1) “the conscious recognition
David B. King Teresa L. DeCicco
Trent University
Peterborough, ON, Canada
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 28, 2009, pp. 68-85
Spiritual Intelligence International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 69
that physical reality is embedded within a larger,
multidimensional reality” (p. 46); and (2) “the conscious
pursuit of psychological health, not only for ourselves but
for…the global community” (p. 46). The first of these
abilities can be readily amalgamated with Emmons’
(2000a) capacity for transcendent awareness, while the
second more closely resembles preferred behavior.
The capacity for transcendent awareness has been
equally emphasized by Wolman (2001) and Vaughan
(2002). Others have added the capacity for existential
thinking and questioning (e.g., Nasel, 2004; Vaughan,
2002; Wolman, 2001; Zohar & Marshall, 2000) as a
core aspect of spiritual intelligence. Zohar and Marshall
(2000) further contended that spiritual intelligence
represents the brain’s unitive processes which serve to
reconceptualize experience and produce meaning. Nasel
(2004) described the construct as “the application of
spiritual abilities and resources to practical contexts”
(p. 4), identifying two main components of existential
questioning and the awareness of divine presence. His 17-
item Spiritual Intelligence Scale incorporates traditional
Christian values and New Age spirituality, yet fails to
offer a universal measure of spiritual abilities as opposed
to experiences and behaviors.
More recently, Amram (2007) identified
seven major themes of spiritual intelligence, including
meaning, consciousness, grace, transcendence, truth,
peaceful surrender to Self, and inner-directed freedom.
His Integrated Spiritual Intelligence Scale consists of
22 subscales organized into five theoretical domains of
consciousness, grace, meaning, transcendence, and truth
(Amram & Dryer, 2007). Like Nasel (2004), however,
Amram (2007) failed to distinguish carefully among
spiritual ability, behavior, and experience, resulting in
a model which is best described as a lived spirituality.
Previous models have made similar errors. For example,
Wolman (2001) contended that phenomenological
experience is a critical component of spiritual intelligence,
while others have involved theological interpretations
(e.g., Emmons, 2000a; Nasel, 2004), resulting in limited
theories which cannot be universally applied.
Gardner (1993, 2000) has remained hesitant
to accept a spiritual intelligence in his own model of
multiple intelligences, arguing that the concept is too
confounded with phenomenological experience and
religious belief. He has, however, expressed preference for
an existential intelligence, which Halama and Strizenec
(2004) described as a related and overlapping construct
to spiritual intelligence. The current paper will offer
evidence to support the notion that spiritual intelligence
not only involves existential capacities, but that it exists as
a set of mental abilities that are distinct from behavioral
traits and experiences, satisfying established intelligence
criteria (Gardner, 1983; Mayer et al., 2000; Sternberg,
1997).
The subsequent model also assumes a
contemporary interpretation of spirituality that
distinguishes it from the construct of religiosity (King,
Speck, & Thomas, 2001; Koenig, McCullough, & Larson,
2000; Love, 2002; Sinnott, 2002; Wink & Dillon, 2002;
Wulff, 1991). Religion is viewed as “an organized system
of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols” (Koenig et al.,
2000, p. 18), while spirituality is regarded as “the personal
quest for understanding answers to ultimate questions
about life, about meaning, and about relationship to the
sacred or transcendent” (p. 18). As many authors (e.g.,
Helminiak, 2001; Worthington & Sandage, 2001) have
noted, however, religion and spirituality remain intimately
connected, with religion being “the social vehicle that, at
its best, proclaims and supports spirituality” (Helminiak,
2001, p. 165). While religion and spiritual intelligence
are also likely related, this is a topic of discussion which
cannot be adequately addressed within the confines of
the current paper. Nevertheless, it is maintained that
spiritual intelligence and religiosity are distinct but
related psychological constructs. As such, the current
model may or may not be consistent with established
religious approaches or systems of belief. This is not a
setback of the current model; rather, it is the result of
a commitment to the identification of cognitive abilities
as opposed to beliefs and attitudes, which is necessary
in the establishment of a universal human intelligence
(Gardner, 1983; Mayer et al., 2000; Sternberg, 1997).
A Viable Model of Spiritual Intelligence
In the current model, spiritual intelligence is defined
as a set of mental capacities which contribute to the
awareness, integration, and adaptive application of the
nonmaterial and transcendent aspects of one’s existence,
leading to such outcomes as deep existential reflection,
enhancement of meaning, recognition of a transcendent
self, and mastery of spiritual states (King, 2008). An
extensive review of the literature supports four core
components: (1) critical existential thinking, (2) personal
meaning production, (3) transcendental awareness, and
(4) conscious state expansion. Following a discussion of
each of these capacities, additional support for adaptive
applications and development over the lifespan will be
reviewed.
70 International Journal of Transpersonal Studies King & DeCicco
Critical Existential Thinking (CET)
The first component of spiritual intelligence
involves the capacity to critically contemplate meaning,
purpose, and other existential or metaphysical issues
(e.g., reality, the universe, space, time, death). In
addition to the mounting support for Gardner’s (1993)
suggestion of an existential intelligence (e.g., Halama
& Strizenec, 2004; Shearer, 2006; Simmons, 2006),
existential thinking is commonplace in definitions of
both spirituality (e.g., Koenig, McCullough, & Larson,
2000; Matheis, Tulsky, & Matheis, 2006; Wink &
Dillon, 2002) and spiritual intelligence (Nasel, 2004;
Vaughan, 2002; Wolman, 2001; Zohar & Marshall,
2000). It is currently argued that critical existential
thinking can be appl