Fluid Intelligence Vs. Crystallized Intelligence
As per Raymond Cattell and John Horn, American psychologists, there are two types of intelligence, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence. Their theory holds that an individual’s overall intelligence is a result of different skills and abilities mixing and interacting together.
Fluid Intelligence
Fluid intelligence is described as the general ability to think abstractly, reason, identify patterns, solve problems, detect relationships. It is something that depends mainly on one’s innate ability, and not something that can be obtained or acquired through education, training, or even experience and exposure to various environmental factors.
This type of intelligence is often used when you are solving puzzles, answering questions, or coming up with strategies to solve a particular problem. It is the navigational skills, for example, that means your ability to use your sense of direction, even in a city that you have never been to, or you have only visited once before. This the situational intelligence.
Crystallized Intelligence
This type of intelligence is the opposite of fluid intelligence, in the sense that it is about having knowledge and skills that are obtained through education, learning, and experience. While fluid intelligence remains the same throughout the persons’ life, crystallized intelligence can actually increase as experience increases.
An example often cited is vocabulary knowledge. As you go to school every year your vocabulary knowledge will definitely increase. As you take more advanced psychology subjects or courses, you will learn more about the application of psychological theories, until your psychological skills crystallize.