Cognitive intelligence: meaning, types and key features

Cognitive intelligence is a type of intelligence based on reasoning that allows to interpret information, store it and retrieve it.

In a selection process, cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, are increasingly in demand, along with emotional intelligence skills such as empathy or other types of intelligences such as the fluid one.

Because of its current relevance, in this article we will address the cognitive intelligence definition, the types that exist and their main characteristics.

What is cognitive intelligence

Cognitive intelligence (a fundamental human resources skill) refers to the set of skills that allow a human being to acquire, process and understand information, as well as to reuse it when needed.

Thanks to this type of intelligence, a person can effectively use acquired knowledge to solve problems and generate new knowledge.

There are different definitions for cognitive intelligence, depending on the theoretical approach, but most theorists determine that it is related to complex processes such as memory, attention, perception, reasoning and language.

Cognitive intelligence can be measured in terms of IQ using psychometric tests such as Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test.

Measuring the cognitive intelligence of a candidate in a selection process is necessary to determine if the person will be able to assume the responsibilities of the position offered or if he/she will be able to learn new concepts.

Some theorists consulted even suggest that cognitive intelligence can be used as a predictor of leadership effectiveness.

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Types of Cognitive Intelligence

Cognitive intelligence is built on various types of information processing received by human beings, which you can discover in the following sections.

Sensations

Sensations are registers of stimuli and information that a person acquires through his senses.

It is important not to confuse this term with emotions, which correspond to emotional intelligence, not cognitive intelligence.

Perception

Thanks to perception, you can shape sensations.

This cognitive thinking ability is in charge of receiving, classifying and interpreting the stimuli received by the human being.

There are different types of perception beyond those linked to the 5 classic senses such as auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory or olfactory perception. This is the case of temporal perception, spatial perception, movement, balance, musical perception, etc.

Attention

Attention is crucial for human survival because it focuses on what is happening in the present moment, but it is also used to capture details and focus on a particular content.

A person who develops his or her mindfulness will be better able to withstand stressful situations at work and be more efficient, for example.

Memory

Memory is involved in the storage of information for later use.

It is a capacity closely linked to learning because of the capacity to store it over a period of time. In this respect we can speak of short, medium or long term memory.

Language

Language is a central human ability that consists of representing thoughts and feelings through spoken or written words, gestures or symbols.

These components of cognitive intelligence are of utmost importance in a recruitment context, as well as the executive functions linked to this type of intelligence such as orientation, reasoning or motivation.

These complex functions enable the person to plan actions, make decisions, evaluate objectives and develop a plan of action, analyzing the type of response to a stimulus.

Think that upon receiving a stimulus or input, the human being processes it and produces a response or output, performing an act or inhibiting a behavior.

Another great advantage of cognitive intelligence is that it can be trained and evolve, as you will discover below.

4 key features of cognitive intelligence

Cognitive intelligence is characterized by 4 distinctive features:

1. Attention. It consists in the choice of stimuli.
2. Coding. It is the interpretation or manifestation of information.
3. Storage. It focuses on maintaining the information.
4. Retrieval. It is the use of the information that has been retained for a precise purpose.

As you can see, the cognitive system is based on the division of processes into mental operations.

Emotional intelligence vs cognitive intelligence

To know how cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence related, it is necessary to address their differences.

While cognitive intelligence focuses on acquiring new knowledge and uses an analytical approach, emotional intelligence focuses on the development of interpersonal relationships with an empathetic approach.

In order to bring more clarity to this comparison, we have prepared the following table:

Cognitive intelligence	Emotional intelligence
Intellectual skills	Social skills
Fluent reasoning	Emotional management
Acquisition of new knowledge	Development of interpersonal relationships
Analytical approach	Empathetic approach
Effective communication	Affective communication
Use of strategies to improve attention, memory, perception and language.	Use of strategies for the improvement of mood balance
Tendency to plan and mitigate risks	Tendency to impulsivity and predisposition to take risks

How to improve cognitive intelligence

As we have advanced throughout this article, cognitive intelligence can be trained and developed, both in personal and professional environments.

Take a look at the following recommendations that we have compiled for you and that you can easily incorporate into your HR strategy:

• Incentivize physical activity. You can create partnerships with gyms, sports centers or instructors for the benefit of your employees. Don’t forget to include exercises such as mindfulness or meditation.
• Create opportunities for employees to get out of their comfort zone. Plan ongoing training, encourage cross-promotion, propose coaching sessions to help develop workers’ skills, etc.
• Encourage curiosity and creativity. Promote diversity, exchange of ideas and interdisciplinarity.
• Encourage social relationships. Create a work environment of respect and spaces conducive to the exchange of ideas and collaboration between teams. Throughout the year, carry out team-building activities that consolidate relationships and help avoid conflicts.

At Smowltech, we have been accompanying our clients in their online recruitment processes for many years, offering them monitoring solutions that respect the privacy of their users.

We invite you to discover our proctoring plans, and if you would like us to share with you what tools we can offer you, ask for a free demo without obligation.

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