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. Doing a web search will also find 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. Then you submit the test and before you can count to ten, you get your results - a two or three digit number. Neat and simple.
But what exactly is an IQ test, anyway? And what’s the number 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 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’s one of the standard methods to estimate human intelligence.
IQ 100 is defined as the average of the whole population. If your score is higher than 100 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
- Employment 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. 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. 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 are not perfect A High IQ sore does not guarantee that you also perform well in other important aspects. They didn’t rise high enough or fast enough up the corporate ladder.
- Not the most important success factor College students who initially showed promising scores on their IQ test ended up not being so hot when they sat 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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IQ does not measure everythingLeadership is one area which is not measured by IQ tests Another area not covered is your emotional intelligence, also called EQ, how good you are at handling other people and relationships. There is also the theory of multiple intelligences, that defines 8 different aspects of intelligence that you may have to varying degrees. So your IQ score may not be the only defining factor in your overall intelligence.
