What are fluid and crystallized intelligence?

crystallized intelligence

Did you know that fluid intelligence is useful for logical reasoning tasks and that crystallized intelligence is essential for general knowledge? In this article we teach you more about them.

Raymond Cattell postulated that general intelligence is divided into two specific categories, known as fluid and crystallized. This psychologist suggested that through these classifications it is possible to store and practice skills and knowledge.

This model cast doubt on the unitary conception of intelligence proposed by Spearman. In particular, in this reading we will investigate Cattel’s theory, examining how to measure and promote his types of intelligence.

What is fluid intelligence?

This is the ability to reason quickly and use different mental operations to solve problems without having to access accumulated knowledge. It belongs to Cattel’s model of intelligence and, being innate, depends to a certain extent on biological endowment. According to an article in the Chilean Journal of Neuropsychology , it includes the following skills:

  • Classification
  • Identifying relationships
  • Understanding implications
  • Generation and evaluation of hypotheses
  • Formation of concepts and inferences
  • Extrapolation and transformation of information

Fluid intelligence declines in later life . However, it is a necessary ability throughout life, as it facilitates adaptation, coping with challenges, learning, and decision-making.

Individuals with high fluid intelligence perform well on logical reasoning tasks.  They are also quick to recognize patterns and use abstract thinking . They quickly analyze complex situations and draw connections between different aspects or variables.

Measures to assess fluid intelligence

Over the years, multiple tests have been designed to measure people’s fluid intelligence in school, work or clinical settings. Let’s look at some of them:

  • Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children : Assesses reasoning, memory, processing speed, and verbal skills.
  • Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test : Estimates intellectual ability and reasoning based on figures. It is a non-verbal test with multiple answers.
  • Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Abilities Test: measures concept formation, sequential reasoning, verbal attention, pattern matching, among other aspects.

How to improve fluid intelligence?

To improve this ability, you can appeal to the stimulation of some of its main processes. Below, we detail the following.

1. Analyze abstract art

Start by studying this type of art a little. Analyze abstract sculptures or paintings and try to reflect on the message, belief or emotions that the author imbued in his work. Explore different perspectives to read the art in front of you.

2. Identify patterns in your life

Take a moment out of your day to observe nature or urban space. Then, try to recognize patterns in things that are part of the environment. For example, spot the pattern that clouds have; increase the difficulty by looking for recurring shapes in abstract images.

3. Solve challenges

Take on challenges that stimulate your problem-solving abilities. Solve riddles , logic problems, puzzles, and more. Use the difficulties you encounter in life to boost your fluid intelligence by actively seeking effective solutions.

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4. Discover implicit messages

Start a series or read a novel and try to unravel the implicit message of the text or the audiovisual.  Make assumptions about the motivations that drive the characters. Infer the possible outcomes of the plot. Look for clues that help you confirm or refute your hypotheses.

What is crystallized intelligence?

It is the ability to use stored knowledge and accumulated learning from lived experiences. It is a type of intelligence that is acquired through acculturation or socialization processes. Some of its properties are:

  • Long-term memory
  • Procedural memory
  • Personal knowledge
  • Language and comprehension skills
  • Inductive, experiential and syllogistic reasoning

Since it is a skill that is strengthened by what we learn and experience, it is more likely to improve over the years. Therefore, it is reasonable that adults have greater crystallized intelligence compared to children or young people.

Individuals with high levels of this intelligence possess a wealth of knowledge about culture, history, literature, science, etc. They may also have non-academic knowledge that allows them to solve problems. They are people who know from experience or academic training.

Measures of crystallized intelligence

We will now discuss some of the tests used to measure this type of intelligence proposed by Cattel:

  • Test C: is an assessment that measures reading comprehension, spelling, grammar and vocabulary of a foreign language.
  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): measures perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and verbal comprehension.

How to improve crystallized intelligence?

Strengthening crystallized intelligence offers a huge advantage in facing life’s challenges. By having greater knowledge, you can use it to solve problems and create support networks where you share your knowledge with younger people. Take a look at some ideas for developing it.

1. Read books that interest you

Reading is a means to learn new things about different areas. Reading is much more than a pleasure ; it opens the door to new ideas that help change the way you see the world and understand what is happening in your life.

2. Learn a new language

Mastering a foreign language opens the doors to accessing the knowledge produced in that other language. As a result, you will expand your knowledge and further strengthen your crystallized intelligence. Learn the language you want: English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese.

3. Develop a new skill

Train yourself in a physical or psychological skill that will allow you to increase your intelligence. You could, for example, acquire social or artistic skills, thus encouraging your brain to create new neural connections ( neural plasticity ), which improves your ability to store information and establish relationships between events.

4. Attend group classes

Find a course that interests you and attend. This way you will learn something and increase your knowledge in that specific field. Group classes will also allow you to meet your classmates and create space for enriching debates and discussions.

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What are the differences between fluid and crystallized intelligence?

One of the main differences is in access to knowledge. Fluid knowledge has greater access to recent information and does not require knowledge stored over the years. On the other hand, crystallized knowledge requires old learning and past experiences.

Fluid intelligence makes greater use of working (or short-term) memory,  as it allows it to easily manipulate the information it needs to solve problems. Crystallized intelligence, on the other hand, is based on stored knowledge and makes more use of long-term memory.

Another distinction is that fluid knowledge is understood more as a process, while crystallized knowledge is assumed to be knowledge. One flows with what the moment or challenges demand, the other is condensed in the data stored in memory.

The effects of time also serve to characterize them. Fluid type usually decreases in late adulthood; crystallized type increases with age.

Unlike crystallized knowledge, which aggregates data, fluid knowledge allows problems to be solved without accessing prior knowledge.

How do fluid and crystallized intelligence work together?

The association between the two is explained by Cattell’s reversal theory . This establishes that fluid intelligence exerts a greater influence on crystallized intelligence, since it is what determines performance during childhood.

Similarly, this theory postulates that it is fluidity that guides, through information processing, the early acquisition of cultural knowledge. Later, this childhood domain loses influence, while crystallized knowledge begins to have a greater performance as the person becomes an adult.

“The main feature of the reversal theory is the assumption of a permanent influence of fluid intelligence on crystallized intelligence, which leads to a change in crystallized intelligence as a function of time.”

~ Ramirez, Torres and Amor, 2016 ~

The interaction of the two is key. Through the contents of long-term memory (crystallized intelligence), the application of abstract reasoning to solve problems improves (fluid intelligence). In addition, the excellent processing of experienced phenomena enhances the subsequent consolidation of knowledge.

Complementary intelligences

Now you have learned that fluid intelligence is what allows you to reason and solve problems quickly without using your past knowledge. While crystallized intelligence helps you use and accumulate knowledge in the long term.

Although they may seem opposite, they are actually very complementary. According to Cattel, general intelligence is based on both of them, so it is not possible to completely separate them. And how do you use fluid and crystallized intelligence to face the challenges of your daily life?