Read all about the IQ test

Almost everyone has heard about IQ tests. They're in lots of magazines, especially women's magazines. Or just google 'IQ tests' and you will get 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. Neat and simple.

But to start from the beginning, what is an IQ test really? What is the meaning of the IQ score? IQ is the 'Intelligence Quotient', a measure of how smart you are compared to the whole population. 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 whole idea of the IQ test is to measure the potential of your brains using problems posed to you on paper. 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 is the most used method to measure human intelligence.

The average IQ score is 100. 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

• Hiring E.g. you like to hire someone for a position. You could get a better understanding of the applicant's intelligence by conducting 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. The results should give a clue on the suitability of the candidate for the position. That way some candidates could be eliminated since they would most likely not be able to make the job.
• College entrance You could get potential students to sit for an IQ test to gauge their intelligence in addition to their SAT scores. This would be useful if there are too few places on the course to accommodate everyone who wants to study. 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.

Disadvantages of the IQ Test

• IQ tests don't tell the full story A High IQ sore does not guarantee that you also perform well in other important aspects. Quite a large share of high IQ persons are simply not as successful as you would expect from their IQ score.
• 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. 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. Quite often students who made a stellar performance with little work at lower levels fare less well as courses become more difficult, as they are not used to work and become discouraged when they do not immediately understand.

• IQ does not measure everythingFor 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.

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