Difference between Intellect and Intelligence

People often mistake intellect for intelligence. People who show sustained interests in intellectual stuff, those who read newspaper editorials , watch debates on news channels, and like to see nature documentaries are often dubbed as being “intelligent” . Such people , especially children, might delude themselves into believing themselves to be of superior intelligence. However, modern psychology makes a clear distinction between the two concepts.

My intelligence quotient, as measured by an IQ Test available on the website iqtest.dk is 106, which falls within the “ Average” range. Yet, in a modified version of the Five Factor Personality Test, I score high on the personality dimension of Openness , also called Intellect. Apparently , I have high intellect but only average intelligence.

What gives? According to psychology, intellect , or openness to experience is one of the five personality dimensions on the Big Five Personality test. Hence ,it is a personality factor, meaning intellect is a feature of a person’s personality. It is defined as “Openness to Experience (sometimes called Intellect or Intellect/Imagination). Includes traits like having wide interests, and being imaginative and insightful” ( University of Oregon)

On the other hand, Intelligence is defined as” general mental capability to reason, solve problems, think abstractly, learn and understand new material, and profit from past experience……Intelligence draws on a variety of mental processes, including memory, learning, perception, decision-making, thinking, and reasoning” ( Encarta Encyclopaedia) . IQ scores are a measure of intelligence .

Intelligence is further divided into Crystallized Intelligence and Fluid Intelligence . Research has shown that Intellect/Openness is substantially correlated with Fluid Intelligence while only weakly correlated with Crystallized Intelligence. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/rp/2000/00000034/00000002/art02276

Fluid intelligence is defined as the ability to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships. Fluid intelligence is the ability to think and reason abstractly and solve problems. This ability is considered independent of learning, experience, and education. Examples of the use of fluid intelligence include solving puzzles and coming up with problem solving strategies….. This would be identical with what common people refer to as “ raw intelligence”

Crystallized intelligence . on the other hand depends on our prior experiences and knowledge. “…is learning from past experiences and learning. Situations that require crystallized intelligence include reading comprehension and vocabulary exams. This type of intelligence is based upon facts and rooted in experiences.”

Scores on the Raven’s progressive matrices are a measure of Fluid intelligence . hence it is apparent that my fluid (“raw” ) intelligence is average, while my intellect , which is correlated with crystallized intelligence is high.

Hence we should not commit the mistake of assuming that a person who seems intellectual is necessarily highly intelligent.