The 4 Differences Between Fluid And Crystallized Intelligence
One of the most important models that has influenced the understanding of what intelligence is is the Cattell-Horn theory, a theory in which intelligence is presented as the combination and joint work of two components: fluid intelligence and fluid intelligence. crystallized intelligence.
Although these two intelligences are very important for our ability to solve problems, both new and those we have experienced before, they present a few differences.
Next we will see the differences between fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence
Differences between fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence, and their characteristics
Throughout history there have been different definitions of what intelligence is. Although each model has proposed its own concept, most agree on what are the essential capabilities that make up this idea, understanding intelligence as the set of capabilities that allow the understanding and comprehension of problems, solving them and that in one way or another is related with the acquisition of knowledge and new learning
There are those who have considered that intelligence is a purely genetic and inherited component, something that we have and that cannot be improved in any way throughout life.
Others, however, have treated intelligence as something that can change throughout life, and that receives an important influence from the learning that is carried out throughout the life path. Finally, We have models that integrate both ideas, such as Raymond Cattell’s theory
The British psychologist Raymond Cattell is widely known in psychology for his particular model of intelligence. Together with the collaboration of John Horn, Cattell proposed a model in which two components are conceived for intelligence, which interact and work together to produce general individual intelligence: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.
The Cattell-Horn theory combines the previously mentioned ideas in which intelligence is conceived as something that depends on the individual’s genetics but is also nourished by learning throughout life. Thus, there would be the intellectual component that is highly dependent on inherited factors, which would be fluid intelligence, and the component that would depend more on the environment in which one grows, which would be crystallized intelligence.
According to the Cattell-Horn model, Fluid intelligence is related to the ability to think and reason abstractly This ability, which has an important genetic component, is the ability of people to adapt and face new situations in an agile way without prior learning or experience.
We would have examples where this type of intelligence would be applied. solve puzzles, make a rubik’s cube, develop a new strategy to solve a mathematical exercise or filter irrelevant information from a text.
The components of fluid intelligence are these:
You can understand why this intelligence is so related to the genetic component in the fact that is closely linked to neurophysiological variables such as the development of neuronal connections Likewise, this does not mean that it depends exclusively on our genetics, since these same connections can be fostered by living in culturally enriching environments, that is, the environmental factor also influences fluid intelligence.
Fluid intelligence acquires its most intense moment of development at younger ages, moments in which there is a great development of brain structures. It could be said that adolescence is the moment in which the individual is as close as possible to having fully developed his or her fluid intelligence, although it has also been seen that we continue to develop it, although at a slower pace, until the decade of our forties.
It is precisely after 40 that this intelligence begins to decline. This decrease in fluid intelligence, especially notable after 60 and 70 years of age, is due to different factors that imply a reduction in the functionality of brain structures, such as normal aging, suffering accidents, developing brain pathologies and/or consuming substances. .
Crystallized intelligence
Crystallized intelligence is the component of general intelligence related to the knowledge and learning of the individual or, that is, it is an intellectual component closely related to the experience and environment in which the person has developed. The situations in which this intelligence is involved are all those in which it is necessary to rescue learned information and put it to good use, such as in a language exam, applying mathematical formulas or giving a lecture.
The components of crystallized intelligence are the following.
Crystallized intelligence, being based on experience, can be technically improved throughout life, in the sense that we will always be able to learn something new, unless we suffer from some type of pathology that prevents us from storing new knowledge. That is, this intelligence increases with age, since the longer we live, the more experiences we gain.
It should be said that this intelligence not only depends on the environment in which the individual has been able to develop, but also on factors related to personality and motivation. An individual who is curious to learn something new every day, feels motivated to investigate and discover new things, will be a person whose crystallized intelligence tends to be greater than that of a person who does not share these same traits.
How to distinguish between both types of intelligence?
The main difference between these two types of intelligence is what they are for Fluid intelligence is that ability that allows us to solve new problems, situations in which we have no previous experience or ready-made learning and that we have to use our creativity to see how we can emerge victorious from them. On the other hand, crystallized intelligence is one in which we make good use of the knowledge that we have already acquired to solve a situation that we have already experienced previously.
Another difference is how it evolves throughout life Fluid intelligence usually reaches its highest level during adolescence, although it is true, as we have mentioned before, that it can continue to develop until the age of 40, although at a slower rate. On the other hand, crystallized intelligence is always increasing, as long as one does not suffer from an illness that requires the acquisition of new knowledge.
There are also age differences in when these intelligences decline. Fluid intelligence begins to reduce very progressively from the age of 40, with this decline accelerating from the age of 60. On the other hand, crystallized intelligence decreases in a very varied way, depending more on whether the person suffers from some type of brain disorder. . If there is no brain damage, The normal thing is that even at 70 years old you continue learning new things something that at most could be affected by memory failures typical of that age.
It should be said that, curiously, these two intelligences share a fact that also depends on age. Both fluid and crystallized intelligence develop with great intensity during early ages, especially in childhood and adolescence. This can be observed with primary school children, since they learn many new content and words a day (crystallized intelligence) while as the months go by they see themselves able to solve increasingly complex problems (fluid intelligence).
But in addition to the age factor, Another differentiating aspect between fluid and crystallized intelligence is the weight of genetics and environment Actually, the two factors influence both intelligences, but as we have mentioned, fluid intelligence depends greatly on genetics and is highly hereditary, making it difficult to modify it once the maximum peak has been reached during adolescence.
On the other hand, crystallization depends a lot on the environment and learning. While it is true that each person is born with a more or less innate ability to memorize content, experience is an aspect that depends greatly on the environment in which we have grown up, whether it is culturally more enriching or whether, on the contrary, it has deficiencies that make us They prevent us from expanding our knowledge.
