Fluid vs. Crystallised Intelligence

Whenever we think about intelligence, we think about the accumulation of facts. It allows individuals to learn new things. Psychologists use a variety of ways in which they gain and utilise information. Intelligence is the ability following which an individual can acquire and utilise skills regularly. Several definitions describe it, including gaining knowledge about different subjects. In this blog, we will talk about intelligence, the two types of intelligence, and their uses and importance.

What is Intelligence?

According to Robert Sternberg, ‘Intelligence’ is the mental activity directed towards adapting, selecting, and shaping natural living environments relevant to an individual’s life. Another definition used to define intelligence is ‘understanding and learning new situations regularly.’ Therefore, intelligence in the field of Psychology can be broadly classified into two major types, ‘Fluid intelligence’ and ‘Crystallised intelligence.’

Types of Intelligence

The ability to think quickly and the ability to reason differentiates between the different kinds of intelligence. There are two kinds of Intelligence in Psychology—Fluid Intelligence and Crystallised Intelligence. 

Fluid intelligence in psychology refers to our ability for flexibility and reasoning. On the other hand, crystallised intelligence refers to the culmination of knowledge, skills, and facts that individuals gain throughout their lives. Individuals often believe that their ability to comprehend and reason declines with age. In contrast, fluid intelligence declines with age; while crystallised intelligence increases with age. 

Raymond Cattell came up with the theory of fluid and crystallised intelligence with the help of his student John Horn. This Cattell-Horn theory of crystallised and fluid intelligence came up with the different abilities to produce general intelligence. 

What is Fluid Intelligence?

Raymond Cattell defines fluid intelligence as comprehending relationships independently of previous specific instruction or practice relevant to those relationships. Fluid intelligence concerns the ability to reason and solve problems. The same ability is considered an integral part of learning, education, and experience. The best examples of fluid intelligence are puzzle-solving and problem-solving strategies. 

This classification of intelligence requires an individual to harbour the ability to solve puzzles and develop reasoning skills. Both these skills depend on previous knowledge, and those that previous knowledge can’t solve require fluid intelligence. With age, the fluid intelligence of individuals declines and so do specific cognitive skills.

What is Crystallised Intelligence?

Unlike fluid intelligence, crystallised intelligence develops from prior experience and knowledge. The majority of situations that depend on crystallised intelligence require good vocabulary hold and reading comprehension. This category of intelligence depends on facts and internal experiences. New experiences and information accumulate with age, thus, ensuring that crystallised intelligence becomes stronger. Unlike fluid intelligence, crystallised intelligence increases with age as new experiences pile up an individual’s mind. One tends to build crystallised intelligence with more experience and learning. Crystallised intelligence can be increased through innovative and better learning. For example, your crystallised intelligence regarding a subject or topic will be more robust given how you have spent a significant amount of time studying it.

Fluid vs. Crystallised Intelligence: Interrelationship and Differences

Both these categories of intelligence are essential, and they go hand-in-hand daily. For example, if one has to sit for a test, they need crystallised intelligence to remember the facts and information, while they need fluid intelligence to find the correct way to write the solutions. Both fluid and crystallised information become what Cattell refers to as general intelligence. 

At the same time, crystallised information focuses on accumulating facts and information throughout an individual’s life. On the other hand, fluid intelligence focuses on an individual’s problem-solving and reasoning skills. These forms of intelligence are distinct and different yet are interrelated and essential for an individual. 

Crystallised intelligence can only be formed whenever fluid intelligence is utilised correctly. Without the help of problem-solving and reasoning skills, one cannot store information and facts that they learn daily in the form of long-term memory. 

Changes in Fluid Intelligence and Crystallised Intelligence

Throughout life, both fluid and crystallised intelligence change. During the same time, mental abilities reach their peak points, allowing individuals to reach their mental potential. Fluid intelligence reaches it’s peak by the age of 40, while crystallised intelligence reaches its peak only after the individual reaches the age of 60. But it has also been observed that this intelligence increases throughout childhood and adolescence. That being said, while fluid intelligence doesn’t grow after an individual reaches a certain age, crystallised intelligence grows with time. The majority of fluid intelligence starts to decrease while the individual reaches the age of 40 or so.

Conclusion

Crystallised intelligence increases with better and more intelligent learning. With time and experience, crystallised intelligence increases as the individual ages. The more knowledge and information you gain, the better your crystallised information becomes. To increase your crystallised intelligence, you need to focus on getting quality education and ways to increase your learning daily. But one can also manipulate their fluid intelligence to a certain extent through brain training. Despite past research and studies showing that individuals have little control over their intelligence, current studies conclude on the contrary. Recent studies have shown that psychologists can manipulate fluid intelligence of individuals of experimental groups by set brain training.