I found the section called "Two Clusters of
Intelligence to be very interesting while reading chapter 21. Before reading
this chapter, I had never heard of fluid intelligence or crystallized intelligence.
Adult intelligence is grouped into these two categories. Fluid intelligence is
quick and flexible; therefore, it enables people to learn anything, even when things are
unfamiliar and unconnected to what they already know. People who have high
fluid abilities can draw inferences, understand relations between concepts, and
readily process new ideas and facts. They are also quick and creative with both
words and numbers and enjoy intellectual puzzles. Puzzles are often used to
measure fluid intelligence and if they have speedy solutions, they are given
bonus points. People high in fluid intelligence were more often exposed to
stress but were less likely to suffer from it. Crystallized intelligence is the
accumulation of facts, information, and knowledge as a result of education and
experience. It is indicated by the size
of a person's vocabulary, the knowledge of chemical formulas, and the long-term
memory for dates in history. The questions used to test crystallized intelligence
may seem to measure achievement more than aptitude which is because these two
are connected. High crystallized intelligence in early adulthood predicts a
high IQ later in life. Fluid and crystallized intelligence must be measured to
reflect the total picture of a person's intellectual aptitude.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I had never heard of crystallized and fluid intelligence before. I knew that intelligence has different facets to it, but I didn’t know that it is categorized into these two particular clusters. I really enjoyed reading this section of the chapter not only because the information intrigued me but also because I learned a lot. After reading about the two separate types and how they work together, I started to make some connections to my own life. For instance, I show signs of strong fluid intelligence because I am quick with numbers and I enjoy working on intellectual puzzles. I also found it interesting that fluid intelligence is associated with openness to having new experiences, because I am comfortable with change and am not afraid to try something new. I was also surprised by the fact that crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence seem to have an opposite relationship with time. As time passes, crystallized intelligence increases, while fluid intelligence decreases. As Raymond Cattell and John Horn noted, it would be foolish to measure intelligence as a single unit because the change in the two clusters of intelligence would cancel each other out as time passes (Berger, 2011, p. 587).