Probably you are familiar with term IQ test. In a lot of printed publications, focused on women in particular, you may find them. Or just google ‘IQ tests’ and you will get as many as you like. A number of more or less difficult questions will pop up and you have to figure out the appropriate answer. Press ‘Submit’ and seconds later you will have the judgement of your mental capacity.
But to start from the beginning, what is an IQ test really? And what does the score mean? 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 IQ test measures your intelligence to solve problems written 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.
Taken over the whole population the average IQ score is 100. If you’ve taken an IQ test and you scored 136, this means you’re a lot more intelligent than the average person. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.
Positive sides of the IQ test
- Hiring E.g. you like to hire someone for a position. One way to get a better understanding of the candidate’s capabilities would be to let them take 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. It would increase the likelyhood to find the top brass.
Disadvantages of the IQ Test
- IQ tests are not perfect Plenty of folks who have taken an IQ test as part of the interview process didn’t do so well at work. They didn’t rise high enough or fast enough up the corporate ladder.
- Other factors may be more important 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.
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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. 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. Intelligence is so much more than a single score.
