This chapter contains descriptions for 16 of the attributes that human
beings display when they behave intelligently. In this book, we refer to
them as Habits of Mind. They are the characteristics of what intelligent
people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions to
which are not immediately apparent.
These Habits of Mind seldom are performed in isolation; rather,
clusters of behaviors are drawn forth and used in various situations. For
example, when listening intently, we use the habits of thinking flexibly,
thinking about our thinking (metacognition), thinking and communicating
with clarity and precision, and perhaps even questioning and posing
problems.
Do not conclude, based on this list, that humans display intelligent
behavior in only 16 ways. The list of the Habits of Mind is not complete.
We want this list to initiate a collection of additional attributes. In fact, 12
attributes of “Intelligent Behavior” were first described in 1991 (Costa,