The term "intelligence" is complex because it refers to both behavior and individuals, and its interpretation varies across cultures. European Americans tend to link intelligence with reasoning and cognitive skills, while in Kenya, it is tied to responsible participation in family and social life. In Uganda, intelligence is seen as the ability to know the right actions and carry them out effectively, while the Iatmul people of Papua New Guinea associate it with the capacity to remember detailed clan names. On the Caroline Islands, intelligence includes mastery of celestial navigation.

Interestingly, some cultures lack a single word for "intelligence" in the Western sense. For instance, Mandarin Chinese uses distinct terms for abilities, such as wisdom, but does not have a single, unified term for general intelligence. This contrasts with the United States, where intelligence typically denotes a broad ability to perform well in cognitive tasks, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

Charles Spearman’s theory of general intelligence, or "g," introduced in 1904, reflects this Western perspective. He observed that children who excelled in one academic subject often performed well in others, suggesting a single underlying factor contributing to various cognitive abilities. Spearman's theory proposes that general intelligence supports success across different intellectual domains, indicating that a person with high intelligence is proficient in a range of cognitive tasks. This idea of intelligence as a general ability to solve problems and learn from experiences continues to influence how intelligence is understood in many Western societies.

This diversity in the conceptualization of intelligence highlights that its meaning is not universal but shaped by cultural values, priorities, and practices.