Not all intelligence declines after 30 years of age

Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence: how do they decline over time?

It is common to think that all human abilities decline with age past the age of 30, and intelligence is no exception to this rule.and that intelligence is no exception to this rule. However, it seems that this is not entirely true and does not always occur with all cognitive abilities equally.

We can believe this, among other things, because a team of researchers has found indications that certain aspects of intelligence reach their peak after youth, while others do so much earlier, around the age of 20.

The thousand faces of intelligence

Although we all tend to associate the concept of "intelligence"to the the set of skills that are put into practice when it comes to completing the famous IQ tests.In the last few years, more and more layers of nuances are being found in what could appear to be a rigid and monolithic definition. There has been talk, for example, of emotional intelligence and multiple intelligences, conceptions of intelligence that go far beyond what is measured by means of the classic sheets of paper on which the correct answer must be written down. One of these interesting breaks in the idea of intellect has occurred with the proposal of two kinds of cognitive abilities: those that shape fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.

These different ways of classifying types of intelligence are not gratuitous: they are theoretical models that attempt to explain deep processes occurring in our brain and, therefore, our way of thinking. That is why it is interesting when evidence is found that different types of intelligence evolve differently. In this regard, an article published in the Journal of Applied Psychology points out that, while fluid intelligence (i.e., that associated with the successful resolution of new problems) begins to decline in the third decade of life, crystallized intelligence, related to the management of what has already been learned, continues to improve with age until it reaches, in some cases, 70 years of age or more.

The experiment

For this research, a group of 3,375 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 74 with a professional profile at the level of an executive was used. As the research was focused on the evaluation of skills linked to the work environment, these people filled out a battery of questions related to certain professional skills, creativity and management style. In addition, they were given a test on fluid and crystallized intelligence and the skills associated with each of them.

To measure each of these modalities, the tests included exercises related to logical and analytical ability to measure fluid intelligence (such as following a series of letters), while crystallized intelligence was evaluated from tasks related to verbal ability (such as following a series of letters). crystallized intelligence was assessed on the basis of tasks related to verbal ability (e.g., following a series of letters)..

After analyzing the data collected, the researchers saw that older people showed significantly lower scores in fluid intelligence than those of people under 30 years of ageespecially past the age of 50. However, in verbal ability tasks associated with crystallized intelligence the trend was reversed: the mean scores corresponding to the older age group were higher.

Although this is not the only study that describes these trends in the evolution of these types of intelligence, it is one of the few that focuses on the professional context. Research along these lines could be useful to know what kind of tasks are easier to solve in one or another age group, with beneficial results for both the individual and the work group in which he or she finds him or herself.

Of course, both types of intelligence decline with age, both types of intelligence decline with age, but they do so with age.It just happens that they do so in a different way and from a different moment of maturity. It makes sense. Fluid intelligence is especially useful for adapting to relatively new environments to which one is not well adapted and which may still cause unforeseen events given the individual's limited experience. Crystallized intelligence, however, has a more conservative application, linked to problem solving based on what is already known.

These two types of skills unfold at different stages, and our brain seems to be able to adapt to these stages by adjusting to what is expected of it. Somehow, it seems as if evolution aspires to make us as wise as it is, it seems as if evolution aspires to make us as wise as itself..

Bibliographical references:

• Klein, R. M., Dilchert, S., Ones, D. S., & Dages, K. D. (2015). Cognitive Predictors and Age-Based Adverse Impact Among Business Executives. Journal of Applied Psychology, online publication. doi:10.1037/a0038991.