Understanding IQ

Every child learns in class in his or own pace as we understand it as their ability in normal terms. In general, if we look in to a class or group of children when we teach anything – be it a math problem or explain a situation or even as simple as just tell a story which has some in depth meaning we can easily find difference in between children in responding to our answers. Some are fast some are slow some need repetition and some really, we feel this is not for him now, though all are of same age group and studying same class.  We generally give names as this fellow is bright and understand fast, he is too intelligent, that boy is not fast and this girl just average. So, let us understand really what is intelligence in scientific way so that next time we use such words we will be more careful.

Intelligence generally refers to the unique characteristics of learning efficiency, problem solving capacity and language facility made possible by the relatively greater size and complexity of human brain. Children learn out of experience, exposure, learn to read, master concepts of numbers and science, they try to recall information in testing times, they also develop vocabulary. Some children look better in learning than others by exhibiting characteristics like generalizing from one experience to another more efficiently, plan for future, rapidly develop academic skills, quick in understanding. 

What does an IQ mean? (Intelligence Quotient)

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a number meant to measure people cognitive abilities (intelligence) in relation to their age group. An I.Q between 90 and 110 is considered average; and over 120 is believed to be superior.

Roughly 68% of the population has an IQ between 85 and 115. 95% of the population scores between 70 and 130. A score below 70 may indicate mental retardation, and a score above 130 may indicate intellectual giftedness. 1% of the population has an IQ of 136 or higher. However, an individual scoring 100 within one population can score above or below that value within another population, for example, the Japanese are supposed to have the highest average IQ in the world (115), but this 115 can only be an average of 100 within their own population (Japan).

I.Q. Tests

Formally referred to as “intellectual quotient” tests, IQ tests come in many forms. They can help diagnose intellectual disabilities or measure someone’s intellectual potential. The I.Q tests are intended to measure a person’s ability to absorb and repeat mechanical intellectual tasks.

And since the IQ is described as a “quotient”, it usually represents the ratio between a person’s “mental age” and actual chronological age.

The history of the I.Q started with the Binet-Simon scale in 1905. Later after many modifications on the original method of Binet-Simon, Stanford-Binet test was born, then refined testing methods were developed. Today intelligence tests are getting more popular among the population as well as in government departments.

Thousands of children/ employees are tested everyday. While people have different cognitive strengths and weaknesses (e.g. language, music, math, visual), consistent correlations between them show us there is a common component to all of these called ‘general intelligence’ or ‘G‘. G is measured with a variety of psychometric assessments including IQ tests, job aptitude tests and university entrance exams. Though these tests don’t test all intelligence aspects, but it certainly tests many areas where it’s thought to be a feature of intelligence, such as analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, along with verbal, numeric, and spatial intelligence.

IQ Score Range

(http://www.wilderdom.com/intelligence/IQWhatScoresMean.html)

What is a good IQ score?  What is a high IQ score?  What is a low IQ score?  These are common questions, particularly after someone finds out their score from an IQ test.

Lewis Terman (1916) developed the original notion of IQ and proposed this scale for classifying IQ scores:

·       Over 140 – Genius or near genius

·       120 – 140 – Very superior intelligence

·       110 – 119 – Superior intelligence

·       90 – 109 – Normal or average intelligence

·       80 – 89 – Dullness

·       70 – 79 – Borderline deficiency

·       Under 70 – Definite feeble-mindedness

Normal Distribution & IQ Scores

The properties of the normal distribution apply to IQ scores:

·     50% of IQ scores fall between 90 and 110

·     70% of IQ scores fall between 85 and 115

·     95% of IQ scores fall between 70 and 130

·     99.5% of IQ scores fall between 60 and 140

Low IQ & Mental Retardation

5% of people have an IQ under 70 and this is generally considered as the benchmark for “mental retardation”, a condition of limited mental ability in that it produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

Severity of mental retardation can be broken into 4 levels:

·     50-70 – Mild mental retardation (85%)

·     35-50 – Moderate mental retardation (10%)

·     20-35 – Severe mental retardation (4%)

·     IQ < 20 – Profound mental retardation (1%)

High IQ & Genius IQ

Genius IQ is generally considered to begin around 140 to 145, representing ~.25% of the population (1 in 400).  Here’s a rough guide:

·     115-124 – Above average (e.g., university students)

·     125-134 – Gifted (e.g., post-graduate students)

·     135-144 – Highly gifted (e.g., intellectuals)

·     145-154 – Genius (e.g., professors)

·     155-164 – Genius (e.g., Nobel Prize winners)

·     165-179 – High genius

·     180-200 – Highest genius

·     >200 – “Unmeasurable genius