The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence was developed by Robert Sternberg and attempts to explain how intelligence works in humans. Sternberg believed that intelligence was more complex than one all-encompassing general type of intelligence, which was the idea that dominated most of the previous intelligence theories.
He proposed that intelligence was comprised of how well a person adapted to their changing environments and used their knowledge to shape the world around them. This was a more cognitive approach to intelligence theory than a behavioristic viewpoint. The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence gets its name from the three factors that Sternberg believed constructed a “successful intelligence.”
The first factor is componential intelligence which is analytical in nature and is how good a person is at problem solving. The second is experiential intelligence which is creative in scope and focuses on how well a person deals with novel situations using their past knowledge and skills. The third factor is practical intelligence (colloquially described as ‘street smarts’) and is how well a person can adapt to change in their environment.