What cognitive ability tends to stabilize or improve with age, contrary to fluid intelligence?

Crystallized intelligence is the correct choice because it represents the accumulated knowledge, skills, and experiences that individuals acquire over time. This form of intelligence tends to stabilize or even improve with age as people continue to learn from their experiences, education, and social interactions. Unlike fluid intelligence, which is related to the ability to solve new problems, think abstractly, and reason quickly—capabilities that tend to decline with age—crystallized intelligence benefits from a lifetime of learning and applying knowledge.

As individuals age, they often have more extensive vocabulary, general knowledge, and expertise in areas of interest, which contribute to this stability or growth in crystallized intelligence. This reflects the idea that life experiences, education, and continuous engagement in intellectual activities can enhance cognitive resources even in the later stages of life.

The other choices—emotional regulation, practical intelligence, and creative intelligence—may also show variations with age, but they do not represent the clear, universally recognized trend of stabilization or improvement as strongly as crystallized intelligence does. Emotional regulation can improve with age as individuals gain more experience in managing their emotions, while practical intelligence pertains to the ability to solve everyday problems and may not follow the same predictable trajectory. Creative intelligence might decline or change with age as