Probably you are familiar with term IQ test. They’re in lots of magazines, especially women’s magazines. Doing a web search will also find 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. Enter the answers and the site will respond with an estimated score.

But to start from the beginning, what is an IQ test really? And what’s the number mean? 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 basic concept of an IQ test is to estimate how well the brain solves problems in paper form. Written problem solving is the core idea of IQ tests. Your intelligence is gauged in respect to another person. It’s one method commonly used to measure human intelligence.

Taken over the whole population the average IQ score is 100. Any score over 100 means you are more intelligent than average. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.

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. These may be more related to the type of work involved. A high score would indicate the candidate is well suited for the position. You could weed out those who don’t make the cut.
• Academic admission On top of the SAT and other tests IQ tests to judge their intelligence. This would be useful if there are too few places on the course to accommodate everyone who wants to study. That way there is a better chance to pick the top performers and weed out students with less potential.

Negative sides 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. Many high IQ scorers have been overtaken by so-called ‘weaker’ minds with much lower IQ.

• 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.