Crystallized vs Fluid Intelligence

There are many theories about how our intellect work, and it is not clear which one of them is correct. In the 1970s, Raymond Cattell proposed the separation of intelligence into fluid and crystallized.

Crystallized intelligence is responsible for the ability to use the knowledge gained through training or life experience. Memorized songs, a recipe for your favorite cake, knowledge of foreign languages ​​- all these are examples of crystallized intelligence.

Fluid intelligence is responsible for the ability to think logically, analyze and solve problems that you have never encountered. The term "fluid intelligence" is a metaphor. It implies that such basic processes as the perception, recognition, analysis and solution of various problems "merge" into many other types of intellectual activity. This intelligence is necessary in order to find the right path in an unknown city, solve a puzzle, create a program or deal with a situation that you have never solved. The ability to think abstractly, to see connections and patterns - all these are about fluid intellect.

In short, crystallized intelligence is the accumulated knowledge and its application in familiar conditions. Fluid intelligence helps you to use this knowledge in an unusual situation or cope with tasks unfamiliar to you. This type of intelligence has a high hereditary factor, unlike crystallized, which depends on environmental factors.

The level of crystallized intelligence depends on the level of fluid, because people with high mobile intelligence learn faster and, accordingly, accumulate crystallized intelligence faster.