The two types of intelligence
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014 10:14 AM

When you think of intelligence, you likely picture it as a single entity, as in, "that person is intelligent." However, the smarts to which you refer are actually composed of two types of cognitive processes: crystallized and fluid, and IQ tests measure both. Different questions and test sections are designed to stimulate and assess a person's multifaceted mind. If you're considering having your child take an IQ test, you may be interested to know more about the differences between crystallized and fluid intelligence.

Crystallized intelligence
As the name suggests, crystallized intelligence refers to the information you know that you've gained over time through study and practice. Crystallized intelligence encompasses your ABCs all the way to motor and cognitive skills, such as playing the piano. Because this type of intelligence comes as the result of learning, it can change over time. You can either realize information is incorrect and alter your thinking or gain a new piece of knowledge. This is the type of intelligence that is tested in game shows such as "Jeopardy." 

Scientists know that IQ scores can alter, mostly due to crystallized intelligence. The score your child achieves now will likely change after he or she receives more schooling. In fact, crystallized intelligence continues to develop throughout a person's entire life. 

Fluid intelligence
Fluid intelligence is a sort of in-the-moment cognitive ability that encompasses learning, problem-solving and pattern-recognition skills. Also called "native mental ability," fluid intelligence, scientists have observed, is far less susceptible to change than crystallized intelligence. In fact, throughout a human's life, fluid intelligence goes through two major growth spurts, and those periods of rapid change reflect physical alterations. The first occurs when you're a baby developing into a child. The second occurs in adolescence into young adulthood, ending in your late 20s to early 30s.

The name fluid intelligence comes from the fact that thinking with this type of mental state requires openness. Often, problem solving, which is part of fluid intelligence, is non-linear and makes you think outside the box. While many scientists agree that fluid intelligence declines after the second growth period, some have hypothesized that it can improve. 

According to The New York Times, working memory is tied to fluid intelligence and that memory can be exercised. By completing memory-based tasks or games, you can work your fluid intelligence, expanding its capabilities.

"We see attention and working memory as the cardiovascular function of the brain," Susanne Jaeggi, who conducted a study on intelligence, told the source. "If you train your attention and working memory, you increase your basic cognitive skills that help you for many different complex tasks."