Psychology2016

Cognition: Thinking, Intelligence, and Language 281

domain- specific knowledge, reading and writing, and quantitative knowledge. Other
abilities are tied to sensory systems and their respective primary and association areas
of the cortex: visual processing, auditory processing, olfactory abilities, tactile abilities,
kinesthetic abilities, and psychomotor abilities (Schneider & McGrew, 2012).

Figure 7.4 Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory of Intelligence. Based on and adapted from
Schneider & McGrew (2012, 2013).

Quantitative Knowledge (Gq)

Comp - Knowledge (Gc)

General

Broad

Narrow

Reading & Writing (Grw)

Functional groupingsConceptual groupings

Domain Specific Knowledge

(Gkn)

Fluid Reasoning (Gf)

Short-Term Memory (Gsm)

Long-Term Storage &

Retrieval (Glr)

Reaction & Decision

Speed (Gt)

Visual Processing (Gv)

Auditory Processing (Ga)

Olfactory Abilities (Go)

Tactile Abilities (Gh)

Kinesthetic Abilities (Gk)

70 + Narrow Abilities

Psychomotor Abilities (Gp)

Domain-Independent

Acquired Knowledge General Capacities

Processing Speed (Gs)

Psychomotor Speed (Gps)

Sensory-Motor Domain

Specific Abilities

General Intelligence (g)

General Speed

Of all of the theories of intelligence, it has been suggested that CHC theory is the
most researched, empirically supported, and comprehensive (Flanagan & Dixon, 2013).
In fact, many new assessments of intelligence and revisions of earlier assessments have
been driven by CHC theory (Keith & Reynolds, 2010).

NEUROSCIENCE THEORIES It is probably no surprise that the brain has been closely
linked to intelligence. Not only have specific brain areas and brain functions been tied to
differences in intellectual ability, but differing levels of specific cognitive abilities have
also been a topic of study. With regard to brain area and function, some researchers have
suggested that the frontal and parietal brain areas play the most important roles, and
these areas are actually components of one of the leading neuroscience theories of intel-
ligence, the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory, or P-FIT (Jung & Haier, 2007).
to Learning Objectives 2.11, 2.12. Researchers have expanded on P-FIT and suggested
other areas such as the posterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex, and specific subcortical
areas also play critical roles (Basten et al., 2015). For specific cognitive abilities, working
memory has been tied to fluid intelligence, or the ability to adapt and deal with new
problems or challenges the first time you encounter them, without having to depend
on knowledge you already possess. Working memory in of itself is a contributing fac-
tor to a variety of higher cognitive functions. to Chap 6.4. When examined
in relation to fluid intelligence, individual differences in working memory components
such as capacity, attention control, and ability to retrieve items from long-term memory
appear to be most influential, and that overall, the ability to reliably preserve relevant
information for successful cognitive processing appears to be vital (Colom et al., 2015;
Unsworth et al., 2014, 2015).