What is IQ?

What is Intelligence?

Our intelligence is our ability to grasp situations, reason, problem solve and act efficiently and effectively.

David Wechsler – the creator of the most widely used IQ test, the WAIS – defined intelligence as:

the global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.

IQ Tests

While people have different cognitive strengths and weaknesses, psychologists have found that there is a common component  called ‘general intelligence’ or ‘G‘. Individuals differ in G & scientifically valid IQ tests give a good measure of G.

IQ tests are widely used in our society. Universities use IQ tests (e.g. SAT entrance exams) to select students, companies use IQ tests (job aptitude tests) to screen applicants, and high IQ societies such as Mensa use IQ test scores as membership criteria. IQ scores have a distribution that looks like a bell curve.
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IQ bell curve

 

IQ tests are designed so that the average IQ score is 100. In this graph, you can see that 68% of the population has an IQ score between 85 and 115. Around 2% of the population has an IQ greater than 130 which is a ‘very superior’ intelligence or ‘gifted’ intelligence. This is the IQ needed to become a member of Mensa. An IQ of 120 or more is considered ‘superior intelligence’. An IQ of 124 is needed to become a member of the International High IQ Society.

Here is a table for what IQ scores mean:

Are IQ Tests a Good Measure of Intelligence?

Yes. IQ tests are the most reliable and valid type of psychometric test that psychologists make use of. Score on an IQ test can be used to predict performance in a wide range of activities outside the classroom. Here is a list of factors that have been found to be positively (blue) or negatively (red) statistically linked with IQ – in alphabetic order.

POSITIVE CORRELATES:

  • Achievement motivation
  • Altruism
  • Artistic preferences and abilities
  • Craftwork
  • Creativity
  • Dietary preferences (low-sugar, low-fat)
  • Educational attainment
  • Eminence, genius
  • Emotional sensitivity
  • Extra-curricular attainments
  • Health, fitness, longevity
  • Humor, sense of
  • Income
  • Interests, breadth and depth
  • Involvement in school activities
  • Leadership
  • Learning ability
  • Linguistic abilities
  • Logical abilities
  • Marital partner, choice of
  • Media preferences (newspapers, TV channels)
  • Memory
  • Military rank
  • Moral reasoning and development
  • Motor skills
  • Musical preferences and abilities
  • Occupational status & success
  • Perceptual abilities (for briefly-presented material)
  • Practical knowledge
  • Reading ability
  • Social skills
  • Sports participation
  • Values, attitudes

NEGATIVE CORRELATES:

  • Accident-proneness
  • Acquiescence/obedience
  • Alcoholism
  • Authoritarianism
  • Crime
  • Delinquency
  • Dogmatism
  • Hysteria vs other neuroses
  • Impulsivity
  • Infant mortality
  • Psychoticism
  • Racial prejudice
  • Smoking
  • Truancy
  • Weight height ratio, obesity

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