We know that intelligence is not one-size-fits-all. Whether you’re a student navigating academic challenges, a professional seeking career clarity, or a parent advocating for your child’s unique learning needs, understanding your cognitive strengths is a powerful first step. The kinds of intelligence test instruments we give assess an extensive range—including IQ, emotional and creative intelligence, visual-spatial, and verbal reasoning—are designed to uncover how your mind works best. From traditional kinds of IQ tests like the WAIS and WISC to more specialized tools such as a creative intelligence test, crystalized intelligence test, or visual-spatial intelligence test, we provide clear, compassionate insights beyond numbers.
We choose the kinds of IQ tests to help you better understand yourself to reach your full potential—with confidence, direction, and support.
Kinds of Intelligence Test: Overview
Several kinds of IQ tests assess different aspects of human intelligence. These can be grouped into categories based on the type of intelligence they focus on, the format, and the populations they are designed for. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
General Kinds of Intelligence Test
Examples:
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
What These Kinds of Intelligence Test Measure:
- Verbal comprehension (e.g., vocabulary, similarities)
- Working memory (e.g., digit span, arithmetic)
- Perceptual reasoning (e.g., block design, matrix reasoning)
- Processing speed (e.g., symbol search, coding)
Who Gives These Kinds of IQ Tests:
- Psychologists for determining intellectual strengths and weaknesses to help with school and career planning, diagnosing Learning Differences or ADHD, or giftedness testing
- Schools, to support educational placement and accommodations
- Researchers for studying cognitive development and abilities
Emotional Kinds of Intelligence Test
Examples:
- Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence (MSCEIT)
- Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i)
What These Kinds of IQ Tests Measure:
- Perceiving emotions in oneself and others
- Using emotions to facilitate thought
- Understanding emotional meanings
- Managing emotions
Who Uses These Kinds of Intelligence Test:
- Employers and HR for leadership and teamwork roles
- Therapists to assess emotional regulation skills
- Individuals to understand and improve upon their interpersonal skills and emotional regulation
Multiple Intelligences Theory (Howard Gardner)
Not one of the formal kinds of IQ tests, but it inspired several assessment tools, such as:
- MIDAS (Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales)
What it Measures:
- Linguistic (language ability)
- Logical-mathematical
- Musical
- Bodily-kinesthetic
- Spatial
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalistic
Who It Benefits:
- Educators to tailor teaching strategies and build student strengths
- Students, to understand their learning preferences
- Career counselors to align strengths with vocations and careers
- Individuals to understand and improve upon their strengths and potential
Fluid vs. Crystallized Kinds of Intelligence Test
Examples of fluid vs. crystallized intelligence test instruments:
- Raven’s Progressive Matrices (fluid)
- WAIS verbal side (crystallized)
What They Measure:
- Fluid intelligence: problem-solving, abstract thinking (independent of learning)
- Crystallized intelligence: acquired knowledge, vocabulary, facts
Who Gives a Fluid or Crystalized Intelligence Test:
- Neuropsychologists to track cognitive changes (e.g., aging, injury)
- Educational psychologists to assess learning capabilities
Nonverbal Kinds of Intelligence Test
Examples:
- Leiter International Performance Scale
- Naglieri Nonverbal Ability (NNAT)
What Nonverbal Kinds of Intelligence Test Measure:
- Reasoning and problem-solving using images, patterns, and sequences (no language involved)
Who Benefits from These Kinds of IQ Tests:
- Individuals with speech/language challenges
- ESL learners and others who need a culture-fair IQ assessment
- Neurodivergent individuals, like those with autism or selective mutism
Aptitude and Cognitive Ability Kinds of IQ Tests
Examples:
- Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)
- Wonderlic Personnel
What These Kinds of Intelligence Test Measure:
- Ability to learn or perform in specific areas (e.g., memory, attention, reasoning)
Who They Benefit:
- Employers, in hiring and job placement
- Schools, for identifying specific learning strengths or deficits
Crystalized Intelligence Test Overview
What is Crystallized IQ?
Crystallized intelligence refers to the accumulated knowledge and skills acquired over time through education, experience, and culture. It reflects long-term memory and is heavily influenced by language, reading, and formal learning.
Your “what you know” intelligence is facts, vocabulary, general knowledge, and learned strategies. It increases with age as people gather more experience and information over time.
Crystallized Intelligence Test Overview
A crystallized intelligence test focuses on verbal ability, reading comprehension, vocabulary, general knowledge, and cultural knowledge.
Key Kinds of Crystalized Intelligence Test
- Wechsler Scales (WAIS/WISC) – Verbal Side
- Vocabulary: Define given words.
- Information: Answer general knowledge questions.
- Similarities: Explain how two things are alike.
- Comprehension: Answer questions about social norms and common sense.
Used for: This crystallized intelligence test is used for clinical assessment, educational planning, and diagnosing learning differences.
- Woodcock-Johnson (WJ-IV)
- Subtests like:
- General Information
- Verbal Comprehension
- Academic Knowledge
Used in: Schools use this crystallized intelligence test to identify giftedness, learning disabilities, and placement decisions.
- Peabody Picture Vocabulary (PPVT)
- Assesses receptive vocabulary.
- The client points to a picture that matches a spoken word.
Useful for: This crystallized intelligence test is used for young children, non-verbal individuals, or those with developmental delays.
- Nelson-Denny Reading
- Measures:
- Reading comprehension
- Vocabulary
- Reading speed
Used in: This crystallized intelligence test is used for high school and college-level assessments for placement and accommodations.
- SAT / ACT / GRE – Verbal Sections
While not strictly crystallized intelligence test measures, the verbal portions heavily draw on crystallized intelligence:
- Reading comprehension
- Vocabulary-in-context
- Grammar rules
- Essay writing
Used in: Academic aptitude and admissions.
Who Benefits from Crystallized Intelligence Test?
- Clients: Making career decisions and for self-improvement
- Students: To assess academic knowledge and readiness.
- Adults with cognitive changes: To detect changes in aging or brain injury.
- Neuropsychologists: To differentiate between cognitive impairments.
- Language learners or ESL populations: To gauge vocabulary growth.
- Employers/HR: In evaluating job applicants for roles involving verbal skills.
Crystallized vs. Fluid IQ
| Feature | Crystallized Intelligence | Fluid Intelligence |
| Focus | Learned knowledge | Problem-solving & reasoning |
| Development | Grows over time | Peaks in early adulthood |
| Assessment Type | Verbal, factual | Pattern recognition, abstract |
| Example | Define “philosophy” | Solve a novel logic puzzle |
Creative Intelligence Test Overview
Creative intelligence is the ability to:
- Generate novel ideas
- Adapt to new situations
- Think outside the box
- Solve problems in innovative ways
It’s about imagination, originality, and insight, not just memorizing facts or solving standard problems.
What is a Creative Intelligence Test?
Unlike traditional kinds of IQ tests, a creative intelligence test is less standardized and often more subjective. Still, there are formal and informal ways to measure it.
Common Creative Intelligence Tests
- Torrance Assessment (TTCT)
The gold standard creative intelligence test
- Verbal Tasks:
- Ask open-ended questions like: “What would happen if people never needed to sleep?”
- Storytelling or brainstorming is used for a common object.
- Figural Tasks:
- Complete a partial drawing creatively.
- Make a picture from abstract shapes.
Scored on:
- Fluency: Number of ideas
- Originality: Uniqueness of ideas
- Flexibility: Variety of ideas
- Elaboration: Detail added to ideas
Used for: Gifted programs, psychological research, education
- Remote Associates (RAT)
- You’re given three unrelated words and must find a fourth word that connects them.
Example:
- “Cottage – Swiss – Cake”
- Answer: Cheese
Measures: Associative thinking, insight, and creative problem-solving
Used in: Cognitive psychology research, some workplace creativity assessments
- Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ)
- Self-report survey that asks about real-world creative accomplishments across 10 domains:
- Visual arts
- Music
- Writing
- Science
- Culinary arts
- Humor, etc.
Used for: Adults and college students to measure creative output, not just potential
- Divergent Thinking Creative Intelligence Test Tasks
These are often informal or experimental but widely used.
Example prompts:
- “List as many uses for a brick as possible.”
- “How would you redesign a paperclip?”
Scoring Criteria:
- Fluency: Total responses
- Originality: Uncommon ideas
- Flexibility: Different categories of use
- Elaboration: Detail in descriptions
Used in: Classrooms, creativity training, research
- Consensual Assessment Creative Intelligence Test Technique (CAT)
- Participants create something (like a poem or design).
- Judges (experts in the field) rate the creativity based on their experience.
Strength: Reflects real-world standards
Weakness: Subjective and time-consuming
Who Benefits from a Creative Intelligence Test?
- Clients: Making career decisions and for self-improvement
- Educators: Identifying and nurturing creative students
- Employers: Hiring for design, innovation, marketing, or leadership roles
- Therapists: Assessing emotional expression or divergent thinking
- Researchers: Studying cognitive diversity and ideation
Related Fields and Crossovers
- Design thinking
- Entrepreneurship
- Art therapy
- Game design & storytelling
- Advertising & innovation labs
Visual-Spatial Intelligence Test Overview
Visual-spatial intelligence is the ability to:
- Mentally visualize objects and rotate or manipulate them
- Understand maps, blueprints, charts, and diagrams
- Recognize patterns, shapes, and spatial relationships
- Navigate physical spaces and visualize how things fit together
It’s one of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences, and it plays a huge role in everything from art to STEM fields to video games.
Visual-Spatial Intelligence Test Listing
Here are the most common and effective visual-spatial intelligence test instruments:
Block Design (WAIS, WISC)
- You’re given a set of red and white blocks.
- Your task: replicate a 2D pattern using those blocks.
- Often timed for speed and accuracy.
Measures:
- Visual-motor coordination
- Spatial perception
- Problem-solving under pressure
Used by: Psychologists, neuropsychologists, educational professionals
Mental Rotation Tasks
- You’re shown 3D objects or shapes rotated in space.
- You must identify which images are the same (rotated) and which are mirrored or different.
Example: Shepard and Metzler Mental Rotation
Measures:
- Mental manipulation of objects
- Spatial visualization
- Abstract reasoning
Raven’s Progressive Matrices (Nonverbal IQ)
- Find the missing piece in a series of patterns.
- Focuses on abstract shapes and relationships, no language involved.
Why it’s relevant: It taps into pattern recognition and spatial logic, both key components of visual intelligence.
Embedded Figures
- Find simple shapes hidden in complex images or drawings.
Measures:
- Visual discrimination
- Attention to detail
- Perceptual organization
Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure
- Step 1: Copy a complex geometric figure
- Step 2 (later): Reproduce it from memory
Used for:
- Memory assessments
- Spatial planning
- Executive functioning
Map Reading and Navigation Tasks
- Interpret maps and navigate mazes or grids
- Sometimes used in real-world training (pilots, military, or emergency response)
Measures:
- Spatial orientation
- Planning
- Decision-making
Why are Visual-Spatial Intelligence Kinds of IQ tests important?
| Area | Why It Helps |
| STEM fields | Engineers, architects, and surgeons rely on it for design and planning |
| Art & Design | Artists visualize and manipulate space, depth, and composition |
| Video games / esports | Players use spatial reasoning to navigate and strategize |
| Driving / Navigation | Essential for understanding directions, maps, and GPS |
| Everyday life | Organizing a room, packing a suitcase, reading graphs or assembling furniture |
Who Benefits From Visual-Spatial Intelligence Test?
- Students with uneven learning profiles benefit from a visual-spatial intelligence test that helps them learn to develop their strengths and work on their challenges (e.g., strong spatial, weaker verbal skills)
- Neurodivergent individuals may use a visual-spatial intelligence test to assess their true potential (e.g., many autistic or ADHD people have strengths here)
- Career counseling: A visual-spatial intelligence test helps match people to visual-heavy fields
- Occupational therapy: A visual-spatial intelligence test can help design treatment for those recovering from brain injuries or developmental delays
Case Example: Kinds of Intelligence Test for a Young Adult Seeking Direction
Maya, a 20-year-old college student, came to us feeling uncertain about her future. She had changed majors twice—from graphic design to psychology—and was undecided. While her grades were average, her professors often noted her unique ideas and strong visual presentations. Maya described herself as “creative but not good at typical school stuff.”
Maya wanted to better understand her strengths, hoping this would help her choose a career path that felt both natural and exciting. She was especially interested in whether her creativity could become a real-world skill or job.
Kinds of Intelligence Test Administered:
- Creative Intelligence Test: Torrance
- Maya scored high in originality, elaboration, and flexibility, suggesting a strong ability to generate and expand upon novel ideas.
- Visual-spatial Intelligence Test: Mental Rotation & Block Design Tasks
- She showed excellent skills on the visual-spatial intelligence test measures, especially in pattern recognition and mental manipulation of objects—comparable to individuals in fields like architecture, animation, or engineering.
- Career Interest Inventory – partially a crystallized intelligence test (Holland Codes)
- Her interests leaned heavily toward Artistic and Investigative domains, confirming her natural draw to creative and idea-driven fields.
Insights & Recommendations:
- Strength Profile: Maya’s creative intelligence test revealed an exceptional combination of visual-spatial intelligence and creative problem-solving—ideal for fields that blend design, technology, and storytelling.
- Suggested Career Paths:
- UX/UI Design
- Motion Graphics or Animation
- Game Design
- Industrial/Product Design
- Creative Marketing or Advertising
- Next Steps:
Maya was referred to a creative career coach and enrolled in a local digital design boot camp. The evaluation gave her clarity and confidence to pursue a path that fit her brain, not just her GPA.
Outcome:
Six months later, Maya landed a part-time internship at a creative agency and began building a portfolio of work in user interface design. She shared that, for the first time, she felt like she was “using her brain in the right way.”
Conclusion
Every mind is wired differently—and that’s a strength, not a limitation. Whether you’re looking for answers, guidance, or personal growth, our tailored assessments empower you to move forward with clarity and purpose. We’re not just evaluating intelligence—we’re discovering it. Let us help you identify your strengths, overcome obstacles, and unlock the unique potential that’s already inside you.
You can see other posts as well for information about types of IQ instruments or specific services such as specific learning disorder assessments, IQ evaluations for Mensa, or unbiased IQ measures elsewhere.
If you would like more information about the kinds of IQ tests we use or would like to schedule a creative intelligence test, crystallized intelligence test, or any other measure, please get in touch with us or schedule a consultation.
Insight leads to growth—and we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
