IQ test facts
Probably you are familiar with term IQ test. They’re in lots of magazines, especially women’s magazines. Or just google ‘IQ tests’ and you will get as many as you like. You’ll get this page of questions filling your screen and you’ve got to select your answer online quickly. Enter the answers and the site will respond with an estimated score.
But to start from the beginning, what is an IQ test really? And what does the score mean? IQ is the ‘Intelligence Quotient’, a measure of how smart you are compared to the whole population. There is some connection between your IQ score and what professions may suit you or how well you may do in college.
The basic concept of an IQ test is to estimate how well the brain solves problems in paper form. It assesses the ability of your brain to figure out solutions to issues presented to you in written form. Then your results are compared to other people. It is the most used method to measure human intelligence.
Taken over the whole population the average IQ score is 100. If you’ve taken an IQ test and you scored 136, this means you’re a lot more intelligent than the average person. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.
Advantages of the IQ Test
- Recruitment Let’s say you’re hiring someone for a new job. One way to get a better understanding of the candidate’s capabilities would be to let them take an IQ test. You could select the type of test to use. This should be guided by the requirements for the type of work offered. The results should give a clue on the suitability of the candidate for the position. Some candidates who would probably not be able to do the work could be screened out this way.
- Academic admission On top of the SAT and other tests IQ tests to judge their intelligence. As there are often fewer places than applicants, this could be an additional screening tool. You could pick the cream of the crop from the high IQ scorers and send rejection slips to those who didn’t make the grade.
Negative sides of the IQ test
- IQ tests don’t tell the full story Plenty of folks who have taken an IQ test as part of the interview process didn’t do so well at work. It is quite common that they do not climb very fast or high on the corporate career ladder.
- Other factors may be more important Many students with high IQ are a dissapointment when they hand in their term papers. According to some scientific studies have shown that a high self-discipline is more important than a high IQ score. Relying only on smartness is not enough you must put whatever IQ you have to work to do really well. Quite often students who made a stellar performance with little work at lower levels fare less well as courses become more difficult, as they are not used to work and become discouraged when they do not immediately understand.
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Many abilites are not measured by IQ testsFor example IQ tests can’t measure how well you’ll do as a leader. It doesn’t measure your emotional quotient or EQ – how you’ll get along with other people, including co-workers, superiors and peers. There is also the theory of multiple intelligences, that defines 8 different aspects of intelligence that you may have to varying degrees. Intelligence is so much more than a single score.