AGE‐RELATED DECLINE IN SPELLING ABILITY: A LINK WITH FLUID INTELLIGENCE?

Abstract

In this study, 159 volunteers aged 50 years and older were grouped into age decades (i.e., those in their 50s, 60s, etc.) and tested on measures of spelling, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence. The younger subjects had significantly higher spelling test scores. Statistically removing the effects of crystallized intelligence and length of education by analyses of covariance had no effect on the difference, but removing the effect of fluid intelligence reduced the difference to nonsignificant levels. This implies that in older people spelling, although intuitively considered to be a crystallized skill, relies heavily on fluid intelligence.