What is the Culture Fair Intelligence Test?

The Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) was created by Raymond Cattell in 1949 to measure cognitive abilities while minimizing biases from written language and cultural backgrounds. Cattell designed the test based on his theory that general intelligence comprises biologically based fluid intelligence and environmentally shaped crystallized intelligence. Although the test was built to eliminate sociocultural influences, scholars note that completely removing experiential and cultural conditioning remains a challenging feat.

What we know

• The Culture Fair Intelligence Test was created by Raymond Cattell in 1949 to minimize the bias of written language and cultural background in intelligence testing. [1, 2]
• Raymond Cattell theorized that general intelligence comprises both fluid intelligence, which is biologically and constitutionally based, and crystallized intelligence, which builds on fluid intelligence through experiential and sociocultural learning. [1, 2]
• Cattell built into the Culture Fair Intelligence Test a standard deviation of 24 IQ points. [1]

Still open

• Scholars debate whether it is truly possible to construct a measure of cognitive abilities completely devoid of the influences of experiential and cultural conditioning.

Where to go next

• whoWho was Raymond Cattell?
• the bigger pictureHow is fluid versus crystallized intelligence defined?
• a case in pointWhat is the 16PF Questionnaire?
• compared withHow do standard IQ tests calculate scores?
• what followedWhat is the Flynn effect in IQ testing?
• an unexpected connectionHow does psychometric research connect to personality factors?The same psychologist who built intelligence tests to isolate fluid reasoning also pioneered factor analytic methods to discover 16 primary source traits within normal human personality.

Sources

• [1]Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [2]Raymond Cattell · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Intelligence quotient · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Raymond Cattell bibliography · CC BY-SA 4.0