The IQ test revealed
Probably you are familiar with term IQ test. You find them everywhere, in particular in ladies magazines. You can find them online too, just by Googling ‘IQ test’. You simply fill in your answer to the tasks given in the test. Press ‘Submit’ and seconds later you will have the judgement of your mental capacity.
But what exactly is an IQ test, anyway? And what does the score mean? IQ stands for ‘Intelligence Quotient’, meaning how smart you are. It may be used to see if you are likely to do well in some proffessions or in academic studies.
The whole idea of the IQ test is to measure the potential of your brains using problems posed to you on paper. What is measures is the ability to solve written problems. Your intelligence is gauged in respect to another person. It’s one of the standard methods to estimate human intelligence.
The average IQ score is 100. Any score over 100 means you are more intelligent than average. Any score less than 100 indicates your intelligence level doesn’t match up to the average John Doe.
Advantages of the IQ Test
- Recruitment E.g. you like to hire someone for a position. You could get a better understanding of the applicant’s intelligence by conducting an IQ test. The test could be on logical, linguistic and spatial intelligence. This should be guided by the requirements for the type of work offered. A high score would indicate the candidate is well suited for the position. Some candidates who would probably not be able to do the work could be screened out this way.
- Academic admission You could get potential students to sit for an IQ test to gauge their intelligence in addition to their SAT scores. As there are often fewer places than applicants, this could be an additional screening tool. That way there is a better chance to pick the top performers and weed out students with less potential.
Disadvantages of the IQ Test
- IQ tests are not perfect Many people who score well in IQ tests may not perform well in real life situations. Quite a large share of high IQ persons are simply not as successful as you would expect from their IQ score.
- Other factors may be more important Many students with high IQ are a dissapointment when they hand in their term papers. Studies have found out that a student’s self-discipline is a better gauge of how well they’ll do at college or high school. Relying only on smartness is not enough you must put whatever IQ you have to work to do really well. Many high IQ scorers have been overtaken by so-called ‘weaker’ minds with much lower IQ.
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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.