What Is The Importance Of Crystallized Intelligence?

Cognitive psychology experts have been investigating human intelligence for well over a century. Crystallized intelligence refers to the knowledge and skills that an individual has acquired through experience and education, encompassing facts, information, and expertise. The first intelligence test used in America, "The Binet and Simon Tests of Intellectual Capacity", became widely popular in 1908. Since that time, intelligence testing has evolved drastically, often incorporating concepts such as fluid and crystallized intelligence. 

Fluid intelligence generally refers to problem-solving skills, while crystallized intelligence can be thought of as a person’s accumulated knowledge. It is possible to continue improving your crystallized knowledge throughout your lifetime, and an online therapist can help you.

A note on intelligence

It is important to note that the word "intelligent" is not necessarily synonymous with "smart" or other positive descriptions of a person's mental aptitude. In years prior, researchers attempted to reduce a person's cognitive potential to a single score, the intelligence quotient (IQ). That effort has been mostly unsuccessful.

Today's researchers and psychologists typically try to recognize the complexity of intelligence and cognition. They generally break down a person's cognitive skills into three broad categories: 

• Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge 
• Fluid intelligence refers to problem-solving and adapting to new situations 
• Working memory refers to the capacity to hold onto information temporarily

Crystallized intelligence: The cognitive role of prior knowledge

Crystallized intelligence generally refers to the accumulated knowledge a person can retain. When psychologists and researchers speak about crystallized intelligence, they are usually referring to a person's ability to apply previously acquired knowledge or prior learning to a problem in front of them. The phrase "long-term memory" is often associated with crystallized intelligence. Although crystallized intelligence and long-term memory are not necessarily synonymous, they are considered similar concepts.

Crystallized intelligence is basically a person's "encyclopedia." It can represent the bundled knowledge a person has gained over the years, including everything from advanced concepts taught in school to basic knowledge like "birds have feathers." Because people can continue to learn throughout their entire lives, crystallized intelligence tends to increase the longer a person has been alive.

When people solve a problem using crystallized intelligence, they “look up” facts and information related to the problem in their “personal encyclopedia.” As an example, consider a doctor who specializes in a particular disease. After years of treating that disease, the doctor likely relies more on their own intuition than medical texts and resources. They may have transferred the knowledge of that disease from medical literature to their personal encyclopedia, likely increasing their crystallized intelligence.

Fluid intelligence: The capacity to solve novel problems

Fluid intelligence, which is distinct from crystallized intelligence, typically involves a person's ability to solve new and unfamiliar problems. Imagine a person is asked to sort a bucket of marbles. The marbles are a variety of colors and shapes, and, for the sake of this example, this person has never sorted marbles before. We could give this person instructions on how to sort the marbles, but that may force the person to rely on existing knowledge, a component of crystallized intelligence.

Instead, the person is given no additional information besides the direction to "sort the marbles." Deciding how the marbles should be categorized and the best method to sort them can rely heavily on fluid intelligence. The person must examine the similarities and differences between the marbles and engage in problem-solving and critical thinking to figure out where they should be placed.

Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence are nearly always used together. In the above example, even though the person wasn’t given instructions on how to complete the task, crystallized intelligence was likely still involved. The person probably knew a little bit about how sorting works (putting similar items together, etc.), and even knowledge of the definition of the word "sorting" likely comes from crystallized intelligence.

Unlike crystallized intelligence, which usually improves steadily over time, fluid intelligence typically peaks in early adulthood, around age 20. In general, the capacity for fluid reasoning slowly declines through adulthood, mainly due to aging-related changes in the brain.

Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test is commonly used to assess fluid intelligence. Based on differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence, the same test cannot be used diagnostically for both types of cognitive abilities.

A note on working memory and problem solving

iStock/insta_photos

Working memory isn't considered an intelligence category in the same way as crystallized and fluid intelligence, but it can still be an essential component of general intelligence. Working memory refers to a person's ability to hold on to information temporarily.

You might think of a person's working memory as their problem-solving workbench. The bigger the workbench, the more productive the person can be. A person with a high level of working memory can usually process more information than a person with a low level of working memory in the same span of time.

Working memory can be closely related to fluid intelligence. In fact, in the past, researchers considered working memory to be a part of fluid intelligence. Nowadays, working memory is usually represented as its own category within the theory of intelligence types. 

The term "short-term memory" is often used interchangeably with “working memory.” While crystallized intelligence (long-term memory) normally requires information to be retained indefinitely, short-term memory can be thought of as a scratchpad the brain can use to process information that does not need to be stored for later use.

Crystalized vs. fluid intelligence: Usefulness of the intelligences

Determining whether fluid intelligence is superior to crystallized intelligence depends entirely on context. Some problems require more accumulated knowledge in a certain subject to solve, meaning crystallized intelligence would be more helpful. In contrast, other solutions rely heavily on in-the-moment critical thinking, making fluid reasoning more effective. While some problems may rely more on one type of intelligence than the other, in practice, both kinds of intelligence tend to be required for every problem.

To an outside observer, it may appear that one type of intelligence is superior to the other. For example, people with more crystallized intelligence tend to do better academically, often leading to an increase in confidence that can propel them to higher levels of achievement. Fluid reasoning, while often just as important, tends to be less visible than crystallized intelligence. Consider a high school student with average fluid reasoning abilities who is enrolled in five classes: math, history, literature, science, and geography. Of those, just one subject, math, relies heavily on fluid reasoning. The other subjects listed usually require much more rote memorization of facts and concepts. If the student has a strong ability to crystalize new knowledge, they will likely do better in all subjects. If the student has a lower ability to crystalize new knowledge, they may need help to perform well in school, regardless of their problem-solving ability.

Because people tend to link intelligence to academic achievement, there is a common misconception that the ability to crystallize a large amount of knowledge is what makes a person intellectually capable. However, there can be a large gap between what society considers intelligence and what researchers have learned about the subject. In general, every person needs both crystallized and fluid intelligence, and both forms of intelligence can play a role in success, academic or otherwise.

iStock/Elena Perova

Learning to improve fluid and crystallized intelligence

The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence suggests that human intelligence can be improved throughout a person’s life, particularly crystallized intelligence.

Fluid intelligence tends to be more complex. It typically relies on cognitive processes that decline as the brain ages. For many years, researchers assumed that fluid intelligence was fixed and that any attempt at improving it would be futile. However, tests and recent research suggest the opposite. In a controlled study, scientists were able to improve fluid intelligence scores after administering a course of specially designed training.

The training developed by the researchers didn't necessarily improve fluid reasoning directly. Instead, the training mainly focused on enhancing the participant's working memory. Working memory, or a person's ability to hold on to information temporarily, is usually closely linked to fluid reasoning. In essence, a person can improve their fluid reasoning by processing larger amounts of information in the same amount of time. While it may not be possible to make the same gains in working memory and fluid reasoning as a person can with their crystallized intelligence, a significant degree of improvement is likely possible.

More research likely needs to be conducted before empirically supported tools for improving fluid intelligence are widely available. For now, the best ways to improve intelligence overall rely on improving crystallized intelligence.

How can online therapy improve my crystallized intelligence?

Online therapy can help you find the confidence you need to achieve your crystallized intelligence goals, such as learning a new language or tackling complex tasks. As intelligence refers in part to the ability to retain and apply information, improving intelligence usually requires not only retention skills but also motivation and confidence. 

Completing therapy sessions online in the pursuit of improving intelligence can be convenient, as with online therapy, there is generally no need to leave home or seek out a therapist in your local area. Research has found that online therapy can be just as effective as traditional in-office therapy.

The process of building intelligence may appear challenging for someone who doesn't consider themselves a natural learner, but all people may be able to improve their intelligence, regardless of their ability. Using empirically supported techniques like Motivation Enhancement Therapy, a therapist can help you find the drive to improve your crystallized intelligence.

Takeaway