General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various media and sources.[1] It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General knowledge is an essential component of crystallized intelligence. It is strongly associated with general intelligence and with openness to experience.[2]
Studies have found that people who are highly knowledgeable in a particular domain tend to be knowledgeable in many.[3][4] General knowledge is thought to be supported by long-term semantic memory ability.[5] General knowledge also supports schemata for textual understanding.[6]
^T. C. Bates and A. Shieles. (2003). Crystallized Intelligence is a product of Speed and Drive for Experience: The Relationship of Inspection Time and Openness to g and Gc. Intelligence, 31, 275-287