Named tests
Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test
In short
The Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) is a test by Raymond and Karen Cattell, dated 1950 to 1973, with Hogrefe listed as publisher. It was designed to limit the influence of verbal fluency and schooling, and has three scales. Cattell III scores use SD 24, not 15. The publisher reported it out of print in 2016.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What the CFIT is
The Buros Center lists the Culture Fair Intelligence Test authors as Raymond B. Cattell and A. Karen S. Cattell, with publication dates from 1950 to 1973 and Hogrefe Ltd as publisher (Buros: CFIT). It was designed to measure intelligence with minimal influence from verbal fluency and educational level (Buros: CFIT (store)). Raymond Cattell is also the psychologist who distinguished fluid from crystallized intelligence in 1963 (Wikipedia: Fluid and crystallized intelligence).
The publisher told the Buros Center in January 2016 that the CFIT is out of print (Buros: CFIT). Scores from it still appear in older reports and on lists of accepted scores.
Three scales
The CFIT comes in three scales (Zahra et al., 2022):
| Scale | Intended for |
|---|---|
| Scale 1 | Children ages 4 to 8 and adults with intellectual limitations |
| Scale 2 | Ages 8 to 13 and average adults |
| Scale 3 | High-ability adults and high school and college students |
The four subtests and timing
Scales 2 and 3 each have four subtests: series, classification, matrices, and typology, also called conditions (Zahra et al., 2022). In Scale 2 the timing is tight:
| Scale 2 subtest | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Series | 12 | 3 minutes |
| Classification | 14 | 4 minutes |
| Matrices | 12 | 3 minutes |
| Conditions (typology) | 8 | 2.5 minutes |
In the conditions subtest, the test taker chooses an image that meets certain conditions. That is 46 items in total (Zahra et al., 2022), and 12.5 minutes of working time by simple addition, roughly 16 seconds per item. We have not verified timings for Scale 3.
Why Cattell scores use a wider scale
The Cattell Culture Fair III scale uses a standard deviation of 24, where the Wechsler tests use 15, so the same percentile prints as a different number (Wikipedia: IQ classification). On SD 24, a score of 148 is two standard deviations above the mean, the same position as 130 on SD 15: higher than about 97.7% of people.
This is why the CFIT shows up in Mensa discussions. American Mensa lists an IQ of 148 on the Cattell as qualifying (American Mensa: qualifying scores), and Mensa UK quotes qualifying scores of 148 on Cattell III B and 132 on the Culture Fair test, both the 98th percentile on those scales (Mensa UK). A 148 is not a higher score than a Wechsler 130; it is the same rank on a scale with a wider standard deviation. The percentile-to-IQ converter shows the same percentile on SD 15, 16 and 24, and the Mensa admission page covers the rest of the process.
How "culture fair" is it?
The name describes a design goal: measuring intelligence with minimal influence from verbal fluency and educational level (Buros: CFIT (store)). A design goal is not the same as proof that culture plays no part. The culture-fair IQ tests guide looks at what such tests can and cannot remove.
How to practice
CFIT items are not reproduced here. Our free culture fair practice test uses original nonverbal puzzles, and the sequence puzzles give more practice with figure series. They are not CFIT items, and an estimated IQ from IQ Octopus does not predict a Cattell score.
IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hogrefe, Mensa or any other organization named here. Test names are used only to identify and describe the tests. Our free practice tests are not copies of any published test, and no score on IQ Octopus predicts a score on another test.
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 solid star (option 2).
How to solve it
- Start with the first column and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Every row and every column contains each shape (star, triangle and hexagon) exactly once.
- Every row and every column contains each fill (hatched, solid and outline) exactly once.
- The size (large) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second column, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has a large solid star.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- Buros Center for Testing. Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), test listing. marketplace.unl.edu/buros/test-reviews/categories/intelligence-and-general-aptitude/culture-fair-intelligence-test-7723.html
- Buros Center for Testing. Culture Fair Intelligence Test, marketplace listing. marketplace.unl.edu/buros/culture-fair-intelligence-test.html
- Zahra, N. S., Widyastuti, & Ridfah, A. (2022). Psychometric characteristics of the Culture Fair Intelligence Test Scale 2. JP3I (Jurnal Pengukuran Psikologi dan Pendidikan Indonesia), 11(2), 123-136. journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/jp3i/article/download/25947/pdf_1
- IQ classification. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_classification
- American Mensa. Qualifying test scores. www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/
- IQ tests. British Mensa. www.mensa.org.uk/iq-tests
- Fluid and crystallized intelligence. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence