Probably you are familiar with term IQ test. You find them everywhere, in particular in ladies magazines. 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. Enter the answers and the site will respond with an estimated score.
But what exactly is an IQ test, anyway? And what does the score mean? IQ stands for ‘Intelligence Quotient’, meaning how smart you are. It’s supposed to give you an idea of how well you’ll do at a certain profession or how well you’ll perform academically.
The IQ test measures your intelligence to solve problems written on paper. What is measures is the ability to solve written problems. 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. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.
Positive sides 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. The test could be on logical, linguistic and spatial intelligence. These may be more related to the type of work involved. A high score would indicate the candidate is well suited for the position. That way some candidates could be eliminated since they would most likely not be able to make the job.
- Academic admission On top of the SAT and other tests IQ tests to judge their intelligence. As there are often fewer places than applicants, this could be an additional screening tool. That way there is a better chance to pick the top performers and weed out students with less potential.
Disadvantages of the IQ Test
- IQ tests don’t tell the full story 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 College students who initially showed promising scores on their IQ test ended up not being so hot when they sat 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. Often high IQ students are overtaken since they do not put in enough effort as the courses become more difficult.
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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. So your IQ score may not be the only defining factor in your overall intelligence.
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