We treat all students in the same way, without taking into account the different learning styles and ways in which they receive and process information . For children, we place them in colorful rooms filled with visual stimuli and ask them to be quiet, stop moving, and focus.
However, when we grow up, this does not change. Something similar happens in the office, with modern offices full of colours, people and distractions. In this sense, there are many types of intelligence , 8 to be precise.
You should know: In 1983, an American developmental psychologist named Howard Gardner described 8 types of intelligence ( 1) naturalistic, musical , intrapersonal , interpersonal , linguistic , spatial , and kinesthetic intelligence.
In this article we will explore the latter, kinesthetic intelligence . We will see below what it consists of, what it is about and what its greatest advantages and disadvantages are.
What are kinesthetic people?
Kinesthesia is our sense of movement . It simply refers to awareness of changes in momentum, balance, pressure, and overall body position. In this sense, kinesthetic intelligence includes the control of body movements , the ability to manipulate objects skillfully and use the movements of the whole body.
You may be one of those people who are always on the go: they study while they walk and their body is always active , regardless of what they are doing. For this type of person, moving is essential and helps them to concentrate better.
This group includes people who are too active, who perceive learning as a physical experience. Similarly, kinesthetic people are quite emotional and have to feel things before they can learn them.
Important: This is the type of person who falls in love with people after feeling that they are good. On the other hand, they can also be sensitive and easily hurt. His emotions can always be seen on his face. It is very common to notice a sudden change in your facial features.
What are the characteristics of kinesthetic people?
Here are some factors that describe kinesthetic people well:
- They speak slowly and stop while speaking because they have to feel what they are saying.
- They use feeling words , such as “I feel” or “I don’t feel” very often.
- Responds to touch more than others. He doesn’t feel loved if he isn’t touched
- Much more patient than the other two types
- Does not make quick decisions
Note: If a person takes their time saying each word as if they were trying to feel it first, they are probably kinesthetic.
Next, we detail in more depth the characteristic aspects that distinguish kinesthetic people:
1. They perceive objects and people by touch
These types of people are considered tactile and kinesthetic learners and make up approximately 5% of the population. In that sense, they also absorb information better by doing things, experimenting, touching, moving, or being active in some way.
To stand out: These people enjoy the feeling, the discovery and the action. They like to use tools, build models, and manipulate things. And finally, they learn through emotions, touch, movement and space.
2. They are intuitive and emotional
This type of person is emotional, so much so that they have to feel things before they can learn them (2) . This is the type of person who perceives information in such a way that they fall in love with other people after feeling that they have a good heart, since one of their main characteristics is kindness.
This is because kinesthetic processing is emotionally sensitive and can easily get hurt.
You should know: Her emotions can always be seen on her face and body. Therefore, it is very common to notice a sudden change in the facial features of a person with kinesthetic intelligence as soon as he feels bad.
3. They learn by doing and participating directly
Kinesthetic people have a type of learning in the form of movements. These small aspects play a big role when it comes to the capacity or the learning system thanks to the systems, the environment, the senses and their objectives, so it is important to know some kinesthetic learning methods for these people.
Note: Some of the high level methods that are used for kinesthetic representation, is a little mix of movement, using your favorite verbs like feel, through neuro-linguistic programming. (3)
4. They have abilities for physical activities
The area of kinesthetic intelligence is located in the thalamus , major ganglia , and other parts of the brain . The motor cortex of the brain controls bodily movement, and people with this intelligence display dexterity and fine motor movement skills .
5. They tend to speak slowly with movements and gestures
Kinesthetic people speak slowly and pause a lot while they speak, because they have to feel what they are saying. They use words like “I feel” and respond to touch much more than others (4) . If they don’t touch them they don’t feel loved , if you’re dealing with a kinesthetic person, whether it’s your boss or a client, shake their hand or put a hand on their shoulder , this will help build a relationship.
To highlight: These people are also more patient than the rest of the people and do not rush, do not make quick decisions.
6. The order of things does not seem important to them
Many kinesthetic people believe they have some form of attention disorder, as they are predominantly inattentive , easily distracted, forgetful, and unable to sustain attention on tasks or activities.
Similarly, kinesthetic people ignore the speaker even when spoken to directly , have difficulty following instructions, have difficulty completing school or homework. On the other hand, kinesthetic people also become disorganized, avoid tasks that require long periods of mental effort, and lose important things necessary for tasks and activities.
7. They are active and dynamic
It is very easy to identify people with kinesthetic intelligence. They are successful in active sports, construction, dance, practical tasks, work with probes and microscopes, robotics, digital cameras, etc.
These activities involve dexterity, physical coordination, and the use of your knowledge and skills. That is why people with kinesthetic intelligence engage in learning and expression through various physical activities.
8. They don’t make eye contact when talking.
When they talk they tend to move their eyes down. They lose eye contact easily, however this should not be taken personally.
You should know: Most likely, they lose focus and look elsewhere, since other things in the environment distract them.
9. They have a high sense of rhythm and coordination
It is very easy to identify kinesthetic people (5) . They generally have a great sense of coordination , good aim, and are excellent dancers and athletes. On the other hand, they also have good natural coordination, you notice it when you see it, they don’t have forced movements. It’s almost like every move is flowing.
10. They are given tasks that require fine or gross motor skills
Kinesthetic intelligence gives you the ability to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical abilities. This intelligence also implies a sense of synchronization and the perfection of skills through the mind-body union.
Note: Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and craftsmen exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence.
11. They analyze their feelings when doing things
Emotions are mostly evaluations of a set of sensations or learned responses , which originate in our brain and are translated into bodily sensations. Gardner, in his diverse repertoire of intellectual abilities, refers to these types of people as people with feelings on the surface of their skin.
Important: This type of intelligence is extremely sentimental, especially with touch, they need to be touched to receive love and feel loved or appreciated.
12. They like to wear comfortable clothing
These people feel very much the touch that comes from the nerves of our skin. The skin is our interface with the outside world and other beings. We notice textures, pressure, temperature, and the location of the stimulus or pain.
For this reason, and also because of the need to constantly move, kinesthetic people enjoy and prefer to wear comfortable clothing.
13. Their decisions are based on their feelings
This type of processing is based on your feelings. A study published in Research Gate , analyzed the emotional intelligence of kinesthetic people and concluded that they have higher emotional intelligence than other people with other types of intelligence. (6)
Highlights: Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.
What are the difficulties of kinesthetic people?
Kinesthetic people have slower processing than the visual system, where a lot of information is available at once. It is also slower than that of the auditory system, where the information is sequential.
Therefore, this type of processing can be considered as one of our primitive types of information recognition . All this said, it can also be very fast, for example in emergencies and reflexes. When danger is nearby, it is more helpful to pay attention to what your emotions are telling you.
Next we will see some of the problems that these types of people face:
1. Problems learning with traditional methods
The biggest disadvantage is that this type of intelligence is slow learning. However, it is not applicable in all cases. This is due to the simple fact that some things cannot be taught through learning by doing . For example, complex algebra.
Note: There is no doubt that the active participation of students will improve their education. However, learning by doing would be more effective if combined with traditional learning.
Although very good at providing a foundation for knowledge and understanding, in some cases they fail to develop ideas at a higher level .
2. They learn more slowly
Kinesthetic learners learn effectively through touch, movement, and space, and learn skills through imitation and practice . In this sense, kinesthetic learners can seem slow , because the information is not normally presented in a style that suits their learning methods.
3. Inability to remain passive
The last model of learning according to the senses is notoriously in the minority compared to visual learning and auditory learning , but still important.
It is based, as its name indicates, on the kinetic, that is, on the touch and movements of the body. This implies muscle and body memory , gesticulation and play, rather than the passive methods of vision and hearing.
Important: All this makes it impossible for them to stay completely still, since they need to move to feel and understand their surroundings.
4. They easily lose concentration
If you feel like you are disorganized, distracted, and have a short attention span or are easily bored, you may not have ADHD (attention disorder), you may be a kinesthetic learner who needs movement to focus.
You should know: For this type of apprentice it is very normal to lose concentration and be easily distracted .
To do this, try adding some movement to your work-study routine, such as a desk bike, a standing desk, a stress ball, or walking while listening to an audiobook.
Key Takeaways:
- Each human being has a different way of learning and relating. That is why each and every one of us is special.
- Kinesthesia is our sense of movement. It is the awareness of changes in momentum, balance, pressure, and overall body position.
- Kinesthetic intelligence includes control of bodily movements , the ability to skillfully manipulate objects, and use whole-body movements.
- Kinesthetic people perceive learning as a physical experience . They are very emotional and have to feel things before they can learn them.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.