Intelligence testing
IQ, an abbreviation for "intelligence quotient", is a score derived from a set of standardized tests that were developed with the purpose of measuring a person's cognitive abilities in relation to one's age group. It is expressed as a number normalized so that the average IQ in an age group is 100 – in other words an individual scoring 115 is above-average when compared to similarly aged people. It is usual, but not invariable, practice to standardise so that the standard deviation (σ) of scores is 15. Tests are designed so that the distribution of IQ scores is more-or-less Gaussian, that is to say that it follows the bell curve. Scores on a given test in a given population have tended to rise across time throughout the history of IQ testing (the Flynn effect), so that tests need repeated renormalisation if these standards are to be maintained.
Modern ability tests produce scores for different areas (e.g., language fluency, three-dimensional thinking, etc.), with the summary score calculated as a some general measure, whose significance is disputed. Opponents argue that it is much more useful to know which are the strengths and weaknesses of a person than to know that he or she holds a measureable superlative on n percent of the populace in some "general intelligence" measure. Two persons with vastly different ability profiles may score the same IQ, but may exhibit different affinity to a given task, or may not be valued equally intelligent by other people.
IQ scores are sometimes taken as an objective measure of intelligence, and since intelligence is notoriously difficult to define, the definition "Intelligence is what the IQ test measures" has been seriously proposed. However, IQ tests encode their creator's beliefs about what constitutes intelligence. What various cultures dub "intelligence" differs. Most people also think that creativity plays a significant role in intelligence; creativity is virtually unmeasurable by tests.
The modern field of intelligence testing began with the Stanford-Binet test.
It is worth noting that Alfred Binet, who created the IQ test in 1904, was aiming to identify students who could benefit from extra help in school: his assumption was that lower IQ indicated the need for more teaching, not an inability to learn.
(The following numbers apply to IQ scales with a standard deviation σ = 15.)
Scores between 90 and 110 are considered average—so a person scoring 95 is simply average, not below-average. For children scoring below 80 special schooling is encouraged, children above 135 are "highly gifted".
In previous years, scores below 90 were divided into ranges labelled moron, imbecile and idiot, while scores above 150 were labelled genius. Some writers say that such scores outside the range 55 to 145 are essentially meaningless because there are not enough people to make statistically sound statements.
Race and IQ
The Bell Curve (cf), published in 1994 by R. J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, created great controversy among the scientific community and the public by suggesting that race affects intelligence. They claim that the mean IQ scores of African Americans are one standard deviation of 15 points lower than those of European Americans, which they attribute partially to genetic factors.
Opposition to IQ testing
Many scientists disagree with the practice of psychometrics in general. In The Mismeasure of Man, Professor Stephen Jay Gould strongly disputes the basis of psychometrics as a form of scientific racism, objecting that it is:
- ...the abstraction of intelligence as a single entity, its location within the brain, its quantification as one number for each individual, and the use of these numbers to rank people in a single series of worthiness, invariably to find that oppressed and disadvantaged groups--races, classes, or sexes--are innately inferior and deserve their status. (pp. 24-25).
Later editions of the book include a refutation of The Bell Curve.
Online IQ tests
Although such tests have become wildly popular with the explosion of the internet in recent years, there is great reason to believe that these IQ tests are highly inaccurate in their estimation of one's IQ. For example, by inputting random answers on one particular IQ test, an IQ of roughly 80 is obtained. Comparing results among a large set of people shows a common factor—most scores are above 110. It is therefore recommended not to take online IQ tests as a true judge of one's IQ, even when considering that people who take these tests voluntarily are likely to be above average anyway.
See also:
External links
IQ is a 1994 comedy film about Albert Einstein, starring Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan and Walter Matthau.
IQ is also a British progressive rock band; see IQ (band) for details.
IQ is also the ISO 3166 country code for Iraq.
Referenced By
Clever | IntelliGence | Intelligent | Terrestrial intelligence
|
