Table of contents:
- Interesting IQ test facts that you need to know
- 1. IQ test is not to prove you are smart or not
- 2. IQ score does not reflect who you really are
- 3. The higher the IQ score, the higher the risk of mental disorders
- 4. IQ test scores can fluctuate
Have you ever wondered what your IQ score is? To find out your exact IQ test score, of course, is not just taking a free test on the Internet. These kinds of tests don't give a real picture of your true abilities. You need to register to take an official IQ test provided by an official psychological institution / organization.
Before making up your mind to wrestle with filling out the answer sheets, there are a few things you need to know about IQ test questions.
Interesting IQ test facts that you need to know
1. IQ test is not to prove you are smart or not
The IQ test is an accurate and reliable measure to determine a person's academic achievement.
The result is a number that is obtained after measuring how far your intellectual abilities and cognitive skills pass through four areas of intelligence: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning (visual-spatial and auditory), working memory (including short-term memory), and the speed of processing information or questions.
Of course, you have hundreds of mental abilities apart from the four areas above, but these are the four that can be measured accurately and are known to be closely related to other abilities.
How high you score on one of the measured abilities, the better the quality of your performance in performing other aspects of mental skill that cannot be measured.
A good IQ test should also allow participants to learn new information.
2. IQ score does not reflect who you really are
There are people with high IQ, such as Einstein (190), Stephen Hawking (160), to Christopher Hirata and Terence Tao who have an IQ score of 225. However, a high IQ score is not a guarantee that someone is definitely smarter, happier, sane, and prosperous.
Vice versa. A low IQ score does not mean that the person is intellectually retarded, is mentally impaired, or will not be successful in life financially. There are also individuals who, in theory, are intelligent people but have "normal" intelligence.
It should be noted that most everyday tasks require only a brain skill with an IQ score of 50 or slightly higher. Although a value of 50 in theory indicates that the individual is classified as a person with special needs (academically), in fact the ability to drive can even be obtained by people who have an IQ score between 50-75.
The average person with a “low IQ: proven successful in nearly 71% of the occupation, can have offspring with a normal IQ or higher, and generally be able to live a successful life.
On the other hand, there are also very intelligent individuals who are unable to carry out simple tasks that can have a positive impact on others.
3. The higher the IQ score, the higher the risk of mental disorders
Never watched a movie A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe? This film is a biography that tells the life of John Nash, the famous mathematician and Nobel laureate in economics who has schizophrenia.
David Foster Wallace, the world famous author also battled depression for more than 20 years before he finally committed suicide in 2008. The link between high IQ scores and the risk of mental illness also cites names such as Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, and Ernest Hemingway.
No one knows for sure what causes an increased risk of mental disorders in individuals with high IQ. However, a study found the NCS-1 gene, which is responsible for coding for calcium-binding proteins in the body. This gene is also responsible for maintaining the activity and strength of the connections between nerves in the brain.
The study showed that an increase in the number of NCS-1 receptors has been associated with the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These findings could imply that the stronger the neural connections in the brain, the smarter the person, who also has a higher chance of developing mental illness.
Another study from 2005 found that people who show the best intelligence performance on a math test are also more likely to have bipolar disorder.
4. IQ test scores can fluctuate
IQ test results are very likely to have changed from the time you took the test as a child. The reason is, a person's intelligence is not only influenced by academic history at school, but also from life experiences and how you socialize in society.
The rise and fall of IQ scores was also associated with brain changes with age. This is evidenced in research taken from the Psychology Today page. This study conducted trials with children aged 7 years, these children have a high IQ (more than 120). At the time of the test, these children tended to have a thick cortical brain that was not thick.
After the tests were carried out, it was also found that the cortical brains of children with high IQs thicken rapidly. Their cortical thickness overtakes children aged 12 years, but gradually decreases to its original thickness
In the end, the researchers concluded that human intelligence cannot be measured solely by a high IQ test score. However, it must also be seen from the cortical thickness obtained from the richer life experience of a person.
Then, the theory according to Richard Nisbett, lecturer in psychology at the University of Michigan, IQ can change at any time. In modern society, the brain's ability has also increased so it is very possible that IQ scores increase by 3 points every 10 years.
