DOES SOCIAL-PROBLEM SOLVING DIFFER FROM OTHER TYPES OF PROBLEM-SOLVING DURING THE ADULT YEARS

One hundred thirteen individuals, ages 18-81, were presented with a te st of social problem solving, a test of practical problem solving, the Twenty Questions task (a test of traditional problem solving), the We chsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Vocabulary subtest (a measure of crystallized intelligence), and Raven's Progressive Matrices (a mea sure of fluid intelligence). The effects of age, sex, education, and i ntellectual abilities on problem-solving performance were examined. So cial problem solving was positively related to higher education and hi gher Vocabulary scores, but it was not related to age. Social problem solving and practical problem solving were significantly related to ea ch other and to scores on the Vocabulary subtest, whereas traditional problem solving was significantly related to scores on Raven's Progres sive Matrices, These results suggest that different types of problem s olving are differentially related to other intellectual abilities and to age.