Read all about the IQ test

I am sure you’ve heard of an IQ test by now. In a lot of printed publications, focused on women in particular, you may find them. You can find them online too, just by Googling ‘IQ test’. You simply fill in your answer to the tasks given in the test. Enter the answers and the site will respond with an estimated score. Neat and simple.

But to start from the beginning, what is an IQ test really? What is the meaning of the IQ score? IQ stands for ‘Intelligence Quotient’, meaning how smart you are. 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. What is measures is the ability to solve written problems. The raw test scores are then compared to other persons. It is the most used method to measure human intelligence.

Taken over the whole population the average IQ score is 100. Any score over 100 means you are more intelligent than average. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.

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. You could select the type of test to use. 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. You could weed out those who don’t make the cut.
• College entrance You could get potential students to sit for an IQ test to gauge their intelligence in addition to their SAT scores. This would be useful if there are too few places on the course to accommodate everyone who wants to study. 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.

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.
• Not the most important success factor 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. Many high IQ scorers have been overtaken by so-called ‘weaker’ minds with much lower IQ.

• IQ does not measure everythingFor 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.