Measuring Fluid Intelligence Research Articles

Validation of the Short Parallel and Extra-Short Form of the Heidelberg Figural Matrices Test (HeiQ).

Figural matrices tests are frequently used to measure fluid intelligence. The HeiQ-an operation-oriented figural matrices test-was developed to tackle limitations of previous matrices tests, mainly the possibility of excluding distractors based on superficial features instead of actively solving the items. However, allowing for a total administration time of 60 min for the assessment of one construct is not feasible in many study designs. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop three short forms of the existing HeiQ. Two parallel 20-item short forms (the HeiQ-S A and HeiQ-S B) that are comparable in content as well as on a psychometric basis and a 6-item short form (the HeiQ-XS) were generated. All tests showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha ranging from α = 0.82 to α = 0.86) and good criterion-related validity (correlations with high school grade (Abitur) ranging from r = -0.34 to r = -0.38); construct validity (correlations with the global intelligence scores of the Intelligence Structure Test 2000R were between r = 0.58 and r = 0.71). Further, all test versions showed to be Rasch-scalable, implying a uniform underlying ability. Thus, we conclude that all three newly developed short versions are valid tools for assessing fluid intelligence.

Relationships Between Hearing Status, Cognitive Abilities, and Reliance on Visual and Contextual Cues

Objectives: Visual and contextual cues facilitate speech recognition in suboptimal listening conditions (e.g., background noise, hearing loss, hearing aid signal processing). Moreover, successful speech recognition in challenging listening conditions is linked to cognitive abilities such as working memory and fluid intelligence. However, it is unclear which cognitive abilities facilitate the use of visual and contextual cues in individuals with normal hearing and hearing aid users. The first aim was to investigate whether individuals with hearing aid users rely on visual and contextual cues to a higher degree than individuals with normal hearing in a speech-in-noise recognition task. The second aim was to investigate whether working memory and fluid intelligence are associated with the use of visual and contextual cues in these groups. Design: Groups of participants with normal hearing and hearing aid users with bilateral, symmetrical mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss were included (n = 169 per group). The Samuelsson and Rönnberg task was administered to measure speech recognition in speech-shaped noise. The task consists of an equal number of sentences administered in the auditory and audiovisual modalities, as well as without and with contextual cues (visually presented word preceding the sentence, e.g.,: “Restaurant”). The signal to noise ratio was individually set to 1 dB below the level obtained for 50% correct speech recognition in the hearing-in-noise test administered in the auditory modality. The Reading Span test was used to measure working memory capacity and the Raven test was used to measure fluid intelligence. The data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects modeling. Results: Both groups exhibited significantly higher speech recognition performance when visual and contextual cues were available. Although the hearing aid users performed significantly worse compared to those with normal hearing in the auditory modality, both groups reached similar performance levels in the audiovisual modality. In addition, a significant positive relationship was found between the Raven test score and speech recognition performance only for the hearing aid users in the audiovisual modality. There was no significant relationship between Reading Span test score and performance. Conclusions: Both participants with normal hearing and hearing aid users benefitted from contextual cues, regardless of cognitive abilities. The hearing aid users relied on visual cues to compensate for the perceptual difficulties, reaching a similar performance level as the participants with normal hearing when visual cues were available, despite worse performance in the auditory modality. It is important to note that the hearing aid users who had higher fluid intelligence were able to capitalize on visual cues more successfully than those with poorer fluid intelligence, resulting in better speech-in-noise recognition performance.

Testing the dual-memory framework: individual differences in the magnitude of the retrieval practice effect and fluid intelligence.

Retrieving information from memory enhances long-term retention. In this manuscript, we describe the dual-memory framework, which makes interval-scale predictions of the magnitude of this retrieval practice effect. After outlining the framework, we use data from our laboratory-both at the group level and at the distribution level-to fit the equations from the dual-memory framework. Overall, we successfully fitted the model predictions to the observed average data. In addition, we compared the predicted and the observed distributions of performance in the retrieval practice condition. More importantly, we introduce a useful approach to simulate empirical scenarios and test the relationship between individual-difference variables and the retrieval practice effect. We illustrate the application of this approach using data from a study that measured fluid intelligence. Future studies may benefit from contrasting different strength-based frameworks.

A Novel Approach to Measuring an Old Construct: Aligning the Conceptualisation and Operationalisation of Cognitive Flexibility.

A successful adjustment to dynamic changes in one's environment requires contingent adaptive behaviour. Such behaviour is underpinned by cognitive flexibility, which conceptually is part of fluid intelligence. We argue, however, that conventional approaches to measuring fluid intelligence are insufficient in capturing cognitive flexibility. We address the discrepancy between conceptualisation and operationalisation by introducing two newly developed tasks that aim at capturing within-person processes of dealing with novelty. In an exploratory proof-of-concept study, the two flexibility tasks were administered to 307 university students, together with a battery of conventional measures of fluid intelligence. Participants also provided information about their Grade Point Averages obtained in high school and in their first year at university. We tested (1) whether an experimental manipulation of a requirement for cognitive inhibition resulted in systematic differences in difficulty, (2) whether these complexity differences reflect psychometrically differentiable effects, and (3) whether these newly developed flexibility tasks show incremental value in predicting success in the transition from high school to university over conventional operationalisations of fluid intelligence. Our findings support the notion that cognitive flexibility, when conceptualised and operationalised as individual differences in within-person processes of dealing with novelty, more appropriately reflects the dynamics of individuals' behaviour when attempting to cope with changing demands.

Psychometric Properties and Norming of Learning Agility Index: Online Assessment to Measure Fluid Intelligence

The Learning Agility Index (LAI) is an online assessment used to assess Fluid Intelligence, the pure intellectual speed and power evaluated by the ability to solve new problems creatively. Using a battery of five sub-tests, LAI can deliver a global trainability quotient (GTQ) indicating how well an individual performs in a training context. This study aims to analyze psychometric properties and norming for LAI. The research data comprised 28,980 subjects from the online test database for employees selection owned by PT Global Talentlytica Indonesia. The research approach used in this study is classical test theory. Psychometric property analysis utilized Cronbach's alpha reliability estimation method and collected validity evidence based on internal structure. The reliability analysis results showed that the five sub-tests had strong reliabilities with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.92 to 0.97. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the measurement model of the Learning Agility Index with CFI 0.988, RMSEA 0.022, and SRMR 0.20. The intelligence levels represented by the measurement results were divided into five levels, ranging from “below average” to “far above average.” These findings prove that LAI is a reliable and valid online assessment for measuring fluid intelligence in the context of employees selection or evaluation.

Sarcopenia-defining parameters, but not sarcopenia, are associated with cognitive domains in middle-aged and older European men.

Previous research suggests that sarcopenia is associated with lower cognitive functioning. Evidence on the longitudinal relationship between cognition and sarcopenia, according to the revised criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), is scarce. This study aimed to investigate both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sarcopenia and its defining parameters (muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance) and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older men. This was a secondary analysis of data from the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS), a multicentre cohort study of men aged 40-79years, recruited from population registers in eight European centres. Cognitive functioning was assessed by using a battery of three neuropsychological tests, measuring fluid intelligence: Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF-Copy and ROCF-Recall), Camden Topographical Recognition Memory (CTRM) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Sarcopenia-defining parameters appendicular lean mass (aLM), gait speed (GS), chair stand test (CST) and handgrip strength (HGS) were measured. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the criteria of the EWGSOP2. All measurements were performed at baseline and after a follow-up of 4.3years. Cross-sectional associations between cognition, sarcopenia-defining parameters and prevalent sarcopenia (EWGSOP2) were analysed. Longitudinally, the predictive value of baseline cognition on decline in sarcopenia-defining parameters, onset of new sarcopenia and vice versa was examined. Linear and logistic regression were used and adjusted for putative confounders. In the whole cohort (n=3233), ROCF-Copy (β=0.016; P<0.05), ROCF-Recall (β=0.010; P<0.05), CTRM (β=0.015; P<0.05), DSST score (β=0.032; P<0.05) and fluid cognition (β=0.036; P<0.05) were significantly and independently associated with GS at baseline. In the Leuven+Manchester subcohorts (n=456), ROCF-Copy (β=1.008; P<0.05), ROCF-Recall (β=0.908; P<0.05) and fluid cognition (β=1.482; P<0.05) were associated with HGS. ROCF-Copy (β=0.394; P<0.05), ROCF-Recall (β=0.316; P<0.05), DSST (β=0.393; P<0.05) and fluid cognition (β=0.765; P<0.05) were associated with aLM. The prevalence of sarcopenia in this population was 17.8%. No associations were detected between cognition and prevalent or incident sarcopenia. Longitudinal analysis showed that low ROCF-Copy score at baseline was associated with an increase in CST in men ≥70years (β=-0.599; P<0.05). In addition, a decrease in ROCF-Recall was associated with a decrease in GS, and a decrease in DSST was associated with an increase in CST (β=0.155; P<0.0001, β=-0.595; P<0.001, respectively) in persons with the highest change in both cognition and muscle function. Sarcopenia was not associated with cognitive performance in this population, whereas several components of sarcopenia were associated with domain-specific cognitive performance. Longitudinally, baseline and change in subdomains of cognition predicted change in muscle function in specific subgroups.

Intelligence predicts better cognitive performance after normal sleep but larger vulnerability to sleep deprivation.

Fluid intelligence is seen as a beneficial attribute, protecting against stress and ill-health. Whether intelligence provides resilience to the cognitive effects of insufficient sleep was tested in the current pre-registered experimental study. Participants (N=182) completed the Raven's test (measuring fluid intelligence) and a normal night of sleep or a night of total sleep deprivation. Sleepiness and four cognitive tests were completed at 22:30 hours (baseline), and the following day after sleep manipulation. At baseline, higher fluid intelligence was associated with faster and more accurate arithmetic calculations, and better episodic memory, but not with spatial working memory, simple attention or sleepiness. Those with higher fluid intelligence were more, not less, impacted by sleep deprivation, evident for arithmetic ability, episodic memoryand spatial working memory. We need to establish a more nuanced picture of the benefits of intelligence, where intelligence is not related to cognitive advantages in all situations.

Latin square tasks: A multi-study evaluation

The Latin Square Task (LST) was proposed as a theoretically well-grounded paradigm for measuring fluid intelligence. In four studies (total N = 3,439) we systematically investigated the psychometric properties of LSTs. Results provided evidence that (a) the construct is unidimensional, (b) the administered stimulus types and the rotation of the item matrix only played a minor role, and (c) the relations with other measures of reasoning ability were in the expected range (about r = .50), confirming the validity of LSTs. For unsupervised automated test construction, item difficulty was only insufficiently accounted for by relational complexity and the number of steps that need to be memorized for solving an item. We discuss possible remedies for improving the paradigm including its generalizability. Furthermore, we propose that the binding-hypothesis of working memory is theoretically suited to account for item difficulties in LSTs.

A lifestyle score in childhood and adolescence was positively associated with subsequently measured fluid intelligence in the DONALD cohort study

PurposeLifestyle scores which combine single factors such as diet, activity, or sleep duration showed associations with cognitive decline in adults. However, the role of a favourable lifestyle in younger age and the build-up of cognitive reserve is less clear, which is why we investigated longitudinal associations between a lifestyle score in childhood and adolescence and fluid intelligence obtained on average 6 years later.MethodsIn the DONALD cohort, a lifestyle score of 0 to 4 points including healthy diet and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep was repeatedly assessed in participants aged 5 and 19 years. Data on fluid intelligence were assessed via a German version of the culture fair intelligence test (CFT), using CFT 1-R in children 8.5 years of age or younger (n = 62) or CFT 20-R in participants older than 8.5 years (n = 192). Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate prospective associations between the lifestyle score and the fluid intelligence score.ResultsMean lifestyle score of all participants was 2.2 (0.7–4) points. A one-point increase in the lifestyle score was associated with a higher fluid intelligence score (4.8 points [0.3–7.3], p = 0.0343) for participants completing the CFT 20-R. Furthermore, each additional hour of sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower fluid intelligence score (− 3.0 points [− 5.7 to − 0.3], p = 0.0313). For younger participants (CFT 1-R), no association was found in any analysis (p > 0.05).ConclusionA healthy lifestyle was positively associated with fluid intelligence, whereby sedentary behaviour itself seemed to play a prominent role.

Prospective associations between intelligence, working memory capacity, and intrusive memories of a traumatic film: Potential mediating effects of rumination and memory disorganization

Background and objectivesField research indicates that lower intelligence may predispose trauma-exposed individuals towards the development of re-experiencing symptoms. However, this assumption requires further testing in controlled prospective studies. In the current analog study, we tested whether lower fluid intelligence and lower working memory capacity (WMC) independently contribute to intrusion development. Moreover, we investigated potential mediating effects of trauma memory characteristics and trait rumination. Methods118 healthy participants completed tests measuring fluid intelligence and WMC. Two days later, they were exposed to a film clip depicting traumatic events (i.e., so-called trauma film). After exposure to the film, intrusions were assessed using a diary and an intrusion triggering task. ResultsOur analyses revealed a negative correlation between fluid intelligence and intrusions during the intrusion triggering task. WMC did not correlate with any intrusion measure. Moreover, planned analyses did not yield any mediation effects. LimitationsWe used the trauma film paradigm to examine analog posttraumatic stress symptoms. This approach limits the generalizability of our findings with regard to symptom development following real-life traumatic events. ConclusionsOur results show for the first time that higher fluid intelligence is associated with fewer intrusions of a trauma film. This association was evident for laboratory but not for ambulatory intrusions. By demonstrating this association using a prospective experimental design, our study importantly corroborates previous field research.

Can Working Memory Task-Related EEG Biomarkers Measure Fluid Intelligence and Predict Academic Achievement in Healthy Children?

BackgroundEducational psychology research has linked fluid intelligence (Gf) with working memory (WM), but it is still dubious whether electroencephalography (EEG) markers robustly indicate Gf. This study addresses this issue and notes the relationship between WM task-related EEG markers with Gf and academic performance.MethodA sample of 62 healthy children between the ages of 9 and 12 years was selected to perform three tasks: (1) Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) test to assess Gf; (2) 2-back task to assess central executive system (CES); and (3) delayed match-to-sample task to assess short-term storage. These subjects were divided into high ability (HA) and low ability (LA) groups based on their RSPM scores. Support vector machine and logistic regression were used to train the EEG candidate indicators. A multiple regression was used to predict children’s academic performance using P3 amplitude, P2 latency, and θ-ERS.ResultsBehavioral results demonstrated that the correct rate of the HA group is higher than that of the LA group. The event-related potential results of the 2-back task showed that the P3 amplitude of the HA group was relatively larger and that the P2 latency was shorter than that observed in the LA group. For the delayed matching to sample task, the θ-ERS of the LA group was higher than that of the HA group. However, the area under the curve of these three indicators for Gf was < 0.75 for each and < 0.85 for the combined indicators. In predicting academic performance, only P3 amplitude showed a significant effect.ConclusionThese results challenge previous findings, which reported that P3, P2, or theta power might be used in standard psychometric tests to assess an individual’s intelligence.

The Role of Intelligence in Social Learning

Studies in cultural evolution have uncovered many types of social learning strategies that are adaptive in certain environments. The efficiency of these strategies also depends on the individual characteristics of both the observer and the demonstrator. We investigate the relationship between intelligence and the ways social and individual information is utilised to make decisions in an uncertain environment. We measure fluid intelligence and study experimentally how individuals learn from observing the choices of a demonstrator in a 2-armed bandit problem with changing probabilities of a reward. Participants observe a demonstrator with high or low fluid intelligence. In some treatments they are aware of the intelligence score of the demonstrator and in others they are not. Low fluid intelligence individuals imitate the demonstrator more when her fluid intelligence is known than when it is not. Conversely, individuals with high fluid intelligence adjust their use of social information, as the observed behaviour changes, independently of the knowledge of the intelligence of the demonstrator. We provide evidence that intelligence determines how social and individual information is integrated in order to make choices in a changing uncertain environment.

Measuring Fluid Intelligence in Healthy Older Adults.

The present study evaluated subjective and objective cognitive measures as predictors of fluid intelligence in healthy older adults. We hypothesized that objective cognitive measures would predict fluid intelligence to a greater degree than self-reported cognitive functioning. Ninety-three healthy older (>65 years old) community-dwelling adults participated. Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) were used to measure fluid intelligence, Digit Span Sequencing (DSS) was used to measure working memory, Trail Making Test (TMT) was used to measure cognitive flexibility, Design Fluency Test (DFT) was used to measure creativity, and Tower Test (TT) was used to measure planning. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) was used to measure subjective perceptions of cognitive functioning. RAPM was correlated with DSS, TT, and DFT. When CFQ was the only predictor, the regression model predicting fluid intelligence was not significant. When DSS, TMT, DFT, and TT were included in the model, there was a significant change in the model and the final model was also significant, with DFT as the only significant predictor. The model accounted for approximately 20% of the variability in fluid intelligence. Our findings suggest that the most reliable means of assessing fluid intelligence is to assess it directly.

The Flynn effect in the Czech Republic

The Flynn effect in the Czech population presented here was estimated based on the re-standardization of two short intelligence tests on a sample of 133 eighth-grade students. For over 44years, the average performance in these tests had been improving by 0.23 and 0.42 IQ points per year respectively. There had been a significant difference between the tests at p<0.05, although both tests had been designed to measure fluid intelligence. We propose that the gains in the test scores were generally brought about by changes in the Czech education system, while Armstrong and Woodley's (2014) rule-dependence model provides a reasonably accurate explanation for the difference between the tests.

Enhanced working memory performance via transcranial direct current stimulation: The possibility of near and far transfer

Although working memory (WM) training programs consistently result in improvement on the trained task, benefit is typically short-lived and extends only to tasks very similar to the trained task (i.e., near transfer). It is possible that pairing repeated performance of a WM task with brain stimulation encourages plasticity in brain networks involved in WM task performance, thereby improving the training benefit. In the current study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was paired with performance of a WM task (n-back). In Experiment 1, participants performed a spatial location-monitoring n-back during stimulation, while Experiment 2 used a verbal identity-monitoring n-back. In each experiment, participants received either active (2.0mA) or sham (0.1mA) stimulation with the anode placed over either the right or the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode placed extracephalically. In Experiment 1, only participants receiving active stimulation with the anode placed over the right DLPFC showed marginal improvement on the trained spatial n-back, which did not extend to a near transfer (verbal n-back) or far transfer task (a matrix-reasoning task designed to measure fluid intelligence). In Experiment 2, both left and right anode placements led to improvement, and right DLPFC stimulation resulted in numerical (though not sham-adjusted) improvement on the near transfer (spatial n-back) and far transfer (fluid intelligence) task. Results suggest that WM training paired with brain stimulation may result in cognitive enhancement that transfers to performance on other tasks, depending on the combination of training task and tDCS parameters used.

Involvement of Spearman's g in conceptualisation versus execution of complex tasks

Strong correlations between measures of fluid intelligence (or Spearman's g) and working memory are widely reported in the literature, but there is considerable controversy concerning the nature of underlying mechanisms driving this relationship. In the four experiments presented here we consider the role of response conflict and task complexity in the context of real-time task execution demands (Experiments 1–3) and also address recent evidence that g confers an advantage at the level of task conceptualisation rather than (or in addition to) task execution (Experiment 4). We observed increased sensitivity of measured fluid intelligence to task performance in the presence (vs. the absence) of response conflict, and this relationship remained when task complexity was reduced. Performance-g correlations were also observed in the absence of response conflict, but only in the context of high task complexity. Further, we present evidence that differences in conceptualisation or ‘modelling’ of task instructions prior to execution had an important mediating effect on observed correlations, but only when the task encompassed a strong element of response inhibition. Our results suggest that individual differences in ability reflect, in large part, variability in the efficiency with which the relational complexity of task constraints are held in mind. It follows that fluid intelligence may support successful task execution through the construction of effective action plans via optimal allocation of limited resources.

Parent-Teacher Concordance in Rating Preschooler Difficulties in Behavioural and Cognitive Functioning and Their Dyadic Predicting of Fluid Intelligence

Abstract Objective: Present research examined children’s behavioural and cognitive functioning by using data from a screening study based on reports given by parents and teachers, and investigated the strongest predictors of children’s fluid intelligence. Method: Scales: Conners Early Childhood Behaviour Scale (CEC BEH [S]) and Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool (BRIEF-P) were filled out by parents and teachers of preschool children. Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) was used to measure fluid intelligence among preschool children. Results: Parent-teacher concordance was low to moderate. Working memory in BRIEF-P estimated by teachers and parents mediated the relationship between inattention/hyperactivity in CEC BEH [S] and fluid intelligence among preschoolers. The difficulties with working memory assessed by teachers and parents were significant predictors of Raven scores; however, predictions based on teachers’ assessments were stronger. Conclusion: Clinicians should collect reports from various observers in order to implement prevention programs and optimize clinical diagnoses for children. Information from both parents and teachers give significant and complementary contribution to understanding difficulties with cognitive and behavioural functioning of preschoolers.

Measuring fluid intelligence at age four

Individual differences in the broad ability dimension General fluid intelligence (Gf) are typically assessed with visuospatial problem solving tasks, and particularly so among young children. Such tests may, however, contribute construct-irrelevant variance due to the figural content of the tasks. The main aim of the study is, therefore, to investigate if measures of working memory capacity can add to the measurement of Gf. A sample of 364 children aged four were given a test-battery which included 10 tests designed to measure different aspects of Gf: three visuospatial problem solving tests, two visual short-term memory (STM) tests, two verbal STM tests, and three verbal tests of working memory capacity. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that an oblique model with four factors fitted the data well, as did a bifactor model with a general factor, along with verbal and visual modality factors. The bifactor model was the preferred solution, and it was concluded that the general factor in this model represents Gf. It was also observed that the visuospatial problem solving tests were influenced by both Gf and the visual modality factor, the latter contributing construct-irrelevant variance to the intended measurement of Gf.

Ready, set, create: What instructing people to “be creative” reveals about the meaning and mechanisms of divergent thinking.

The “be creative effect”—instructing people to “be creative” before a divergent thinking task makes the responses more creative—is one of the oldest findings in creativity science. The present research suggests that this seemingly simple effect has underappreciated implications for the assessment of divergent thinking and for theories of the executive and controlled nature of creative thought. An experiment measured fluid intelligence and gave 2 divergent thinking tasks: people completed one with “be creative” instructions and the other with “be fluent” (generate as many ideas as possible) instructions. The responses were scored for creativity (using subjective scoring) and for fluency (the total number of ideas). Multilevel latent variable models found, not surprisingly, a large effect of task instructions: asking people to be creative yielded better but fewer responses, suggesting a focus on quality over quantity. Notably, the study replicated both sides of the contentious intelligence-and-creativity literature. When people were told to come up with a lot of ideas and creativity was scored as fluency, intelligence weakly predicted creativity. But when people were told to be creative and creativity was scored as subjective ratings, intelligence more strongly predicted creativity. We conclude with implications for the assessment of creativity, for models of the intentional and controlled nature of creative thought, and for the ongoing debate over creativity and intelligence.

A mediation model to explain decision making under conditions of risk among adolescents: The role of fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning

Aim: This study tested the mediating role of probabilistic reasoning ability in the relationship between fluid intelligence and advantageous decision making among adolescents in explicit situations of risk—that is, in contexts in which information on the choice options (gains, losses, and probabilities) were explicitly presented at the beginning of the task. Method: Participants were 282 adolescents attending high school (77% males, mean age = 17.3 years). We first measured fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning ability. Then, to measure decision making under explicit conditions of risk, participants performed the Game of Dice Task, in which they have to decide among different alternatives that are explicitly linked to a specific amount of gain or loss and have obvious winning probabilities that are stable over time. Results: Analyses showed a significant positive indirect effect of fluid intelligence on advantageous decision making through probabilistic reasoning ability that acted as a mediator. Specifically, fluid intelligence may enhance ability to reason in probabilistic terms, which in turn increases the likelihood of advantageous choices when adolescents are confronted with an explicit decisional context. Conclusions: Findings show that in experimental paradigm settings, adolescents are able to make advantageous decisions using cognitive abilities when faced with decisions under explicit risky conditions. This study suggests that interventions designed to promote probabilistic reasoning, for example by incrementing the mathematical prerequisites necessary to reason in probabilistic terms, may have a positive effect on adolescents’ decision-making abilities.