Quick Fact: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

IQ = Intelligence quotient [It measures your intelligence!]

So we all know that Dr. Carm is extremely intelligent, so what about you? Are you as smart as Dr. Carm?

About IQ Testing

IQ testing is a very fishy business. You see, the problem is that there is no consistent definition for “intelligence”¹ and that makes it hard to measure. There are many IQ tests (see below) but they do not cover the same things.¹ Iqtest.com states that by popularity IQ emphasizes “cleverness, common sense, practical problem solving ability, verbal ability, and interest in learning. In addition, many people think social competence is an important component of intelligence.”¹ Think about different cultures. What is common sense and cleverness in one culture might not extend to another. Hence, you see the problem.

IQ uses a standard deviation. [Don’t worry, Dr. Carm won’t scare you with any math!] This just basically means that the results are based on averages, which is why there is that upside down U shape.

Figure 1 Example of Standard Deviation

~Majority of the people fall at the crest of the line and less people to either side.

Brief History

·         The first to investigate different mental abilities was Sir Frances Galton¹

·         Alfred Binet (with the help from his colleague Theodore Simon) devised a test to predict academic success by studying practical knowledge, memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and problem solving¹

·         Lewis Terman used Binet’s testing and made it for adults. He also changed the test to include only a single score—the Intelligence Quotient (IQ)¹

·         Before World War I, the IQ tests were offered on an individual basis only; afterwards, group testing was done¹

·         Lewis Terman and Robert Yikes developed the National Intelligence Test that was first used in the 1920s¹

·         The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was developed in 1926 to screen students entering colleges and universities¹

IQ Tests used today

[IQ tests are used in education, military, and business]

Raven’s Progressive Matrices: http://www.raventest.net/

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth edition (WAIS-IV): http://www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8980-808

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV): http://www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8979-044

Stanford Binet: http://www.stanfordbinet.net/

Woodcock-Johnson III Normative Update (NU) Tests of Cognitive Abilities: http://www.riversidepublishing.com/products/wjIIICognitive/details.html

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II): http://psychcorp.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=PAa21000

Practice and IQ Test here: http://www.iqtest.com/prep.html?test=practice

¹Smarter than you think. (n.d.) Retrieved on September 18, 2012 from http://www.iqtest.com/

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