Raymond B. Cattell’s theory of intelligence It is one of the most influential in this field of study.
This multifactorial and hierarchical theory proposes that there is a general intelligence factor that depends on genes and manifests itself in multiple cognitive abilities, which factor analysis groups into two factors: fluid and crystallized intelligence
Raymond Bernard Cattell (1905-1998) was an English psychologist who became famous for his psychometric research on the human mind, which focused particularly on personality and intelligence. Starting from factor analysis, in which he was a pioneer, he developed two very influential theories about these psychological constructs.
Other topics that interested Cattell include motivation, emotion, learning, creativity, academic and career guidance, and social interaction. However, he is best known for his factor theory of personality and the 16PF questionnaire, which was derived from his model and remains one of the most widely used today.
In the work of this author it is very notable the influence of statistician Charles Spearman, who used factor analysis even before Cattell. In particular, Cattell’s theory of intelligence is derived from Spearman’s two-factor theory, which argued that there is a general cognitive factor (g) that explains lower-level aptitudes.
John L. Horn, a disciple of Cattell, later developed his theory, focusing on fluid and crystallized intelligence; so did John B. Carroll. This is the reason why the theory that we will describe in this article It is often called the “Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory.”
Through factor analysis Cattell identified a series of primary factors that structure intelligence He paid special attention to the first two, which he identified with fluid and crystallized intelligence; We will talk in detail about these two factors in the next section.
1. Fluid reasoning
This ability consists of flexible and deliberate use of mental operations to adapt to new situations and solve problems in which you have no experience. It is also known as fluid intelligence and includes processes such as inductive and deductive reasoning, concept formation, classification and identification of relationships.
2. Understanding-Knowledge
The Understanding-Knowledge factor, which corresponds to crystallized intelligence, is the knowledge accumulated during life and is influenced by the sociocultural context, as well as the educational level. It is fundamentally based on the learning verbal and procedural information
3. Quantitative knowledge
Quantitative knowledge is defined as the amount and depth of numerical and mathematical knowledge, both at the declarative and procedural levels. It is acquired mainly through formal education, which is why it is associated with crystallized intelligence.
4. Aptitude for reading and writing
This factor is similar to the previous one, although in this case the material is not mathematical but linguistic. Skills such as reading comprehension, spelling ability, language knowledge and reading speed are related to this aptitude.
5. Short-term memory
For Cattell, short-term memory is the ability to retain and manage information obtained in the last minute, approximately; Therefore, in current terms it would be more appropriate to think about working memory when conceptualizing this factor.
This aptitude It is associated with long-term memory and also with operational memory, since it encompasses the subfactors that allow the consolidation of information in memory, as well as its recovery and management. Among the related factors we find free recall, fluidity in the association of ideas, ease of naming and creativity.
7. Visual processing
Cattell defined visual processing as the ability to generate, store, retrieve and modify images This factor includes other lower order factors such as visual memory, visualization, detection of visual patterns, spatial scanning and mental rotation.
8. Auditory processing
Tasks that involve the perception of sounds and the functioning of the auditory system are related to this aptitude. Among the subfactors that make up auditory processing are frequency and pitch discrimination, resistance to sound distortion, and memory for sound patterns.
9. Processing speed
This factor is defined as the ability to carry out easy or overlearned cognitive tasks in an efficient way. It is associated with different types of material; For example, both calculation speed, reading speed, and writing speed depend on this aptitude, but so do reasoning speed and perception speed.
10. Reaction and decision time
The tenth first-order aptitude described by Cattell is the ability to issue responses or make decisions quickly when faced with the appearance of specific stimuli. It weighs the time of choosing between alternatives, the speed of semantic processing and the speed of mental comparison, among other lower factors.
Fluid and crystallized intelligence
Cattell attached great importance to two of the primary cognitive skills: Comprehension-Knowledge and Fluid Reasoning. He considered that these two factors, which he called respectively “Crystallized Intelligence” and “Fluid Intelligence”, explained the rest to a large extent. This dichotomy remains very popular in the psychology of intelligence.
According to this author and many subsequent studies, fluid intelligence has an important genetic-hereditary component, is influenced by physical state, decreases in old age and is involved in solving new problems. This type of intelligence encompasses skills such as spatial reasoning, memory, and processing speed.
On the contrary, crystallized intelligence is derived from learning ; Consequently, it is more influenced by culture and socialization than fluid, and is not as affected by age. Verbal skills depend mainly on crystallized intelligence, and executive functions are also influenced by it.
Cattell’s analyzes They also identified a general underlying factor to both fluid and crystallized intelligence: historical fluid intelligence, which is basically equivalent to the “g” factor described by Spearman and many later authors. This nuclear cognitive factor has a biological nature and is mainly related to fluid intelligence.
Therefore, and although Cattell’s theory of intelligence is usually classified as a multifactorial model, it is also true that it has a relevant hierarchical component. Fluid intelligence influences different aptitudes, many of which also influence a primary factor related to learning (crystallized intelligence).
