Glossary
Fluid intelligence
Definition
Fluid intelligence is the ability to reason through problems you have not seen before, spotting patterns and relationships without leaning on learned facts. Raymond Cattell separated it from crystallized intelligence in 1963. Matrix puzzles and number series are classic tests of fluid reasoning.
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Why it matters for IQ scores
Raymond Cattell distinguished fluid intelligence, reasoning with novel material, from crystallized intelligence, acquired knowledge, in 1963 (Wikipedia: Fluid and crystallized intelligence). Nonverbal IQ tests lean heavily on the fluid side, because a puzzle made of shapes rewards working out a new rule more than remembering a fact.
An example
In a 3x3 matrix puzzle, nothing you learned at school tells you the answer. You have to notice that the number of shapes goes up by one across each row, that each row uses three different fills, and then combine both rules. That act of finding and holding new rules is fluid reasoning.
Common confusions
Fluid intelligence is not the same as speed, though the two are related, and it is not the same as general intelligence. Some reasoning measures peak earlier in adult life than knowledge does (Hartshorne & Germine, 2015). For the comparison in depth, read fluid vs crystallized intelligence, and see crystallized intelligence and abstract reasoning.
Can fluid reasoning be trained?
Not easily, on current evidence. A 2016 meta-analysis of 87 publications found no convincing evidence that working memory training improves far-transfer measures such as nonverbal reasoning when compared with an active control group (Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016). Schooling has a better record: each additional year of education raised cognitive abilities by about 1 to 5 IQ points in a 2018 meta-analysis (Ritchie & Tucker-Drob, 2018). See can you raise your intelligence.
Try one · Abstract Reasoning
Which tile completes the grid?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile has a large outlined square (option 3).
How to solve it
- Start with the first row and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Every row and every column contains each shape (square, hexagon and cross) exactly once.
- Every row and every column contains each fill (hatched, outline and solid) exactly once.
- The size (large) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second row, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has a large outlined square.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- Fluid and crystallized intelligence. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence
- Hartshorne, J. K., & Germine, L. T. (2015). Psychological Science, 26(4), 433-443. doi.org/10.1177/0956797614567339
- Melby-Lervåg, M., Redick, T. S., & Hulme, C. (2016). Working memory training does not improve performance on measures of intelligence or other measures of "far transfer." Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(4), 512-534. doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635612
- Ritchie, S. J., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2018). How much does education improve intelligence? A meta-analysis. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1358-1369. doi.org/10.1177/0956797618774253