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Fluid intelligence (abbreviated Gf) is the ability to reason quickly, think abstractly, and problem-solve, independent of acquired knowledge. Cattell (1971) proposed two factors underlying general intelligence: fluid and crystallized intelligence. Tests of fluid intelligence tap current reasoning ability and are considered to be more “culture-fair,” being less affected by differences in learning experience or test familiarity. Raven’s Progressive Matrices, and other tasks with novel stimuli, are thought to tap fluid intelligence.
People with ASD often do well on certain tests thought to measure fluid intelligence, such as Raven’s Matrices (Hayashi et al., 2008) and Block Design (Shah & Frith, 1993). Interpretation of these peaks in an uneven intelligence test profile has varied: many fluid intelligence tests tap visuospatial problem solving, which may be superior to verbal reasoning in many people with autism. Alternatively, Dawson et al. (2007)...
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References and Readings
Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Gernsbacher, M. A., & Mottron, L. (2007). The level and nature of autistic intelligence. Psychological Science, 18, 657–662.
Hayashi, M., Kato, M., Igarashi, K., & Kashima, H. (2008). Superior fluid intelligence in children with Asperger’s disorder. Brain and Cognition, 66, 306–310.
Scheuffgen, K., Happé, F., Anderson, M., & Frith, U. (2000). High “Intelligence”, low “IQ”? Speed of processing and measured IQ in children with autism. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 83–90.
Shah, A., & Frith, U. (1993). Why do autistic individuals show superior performance on the block design task? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 1351–1364.
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Happé, F. (2013). Fluid Intelligence. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1731
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1731
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