What Your IQ Score Really Means

Have you ever heard someone described as a “genius”? Or how about someone with a low IQ? What is an average IQ score, anyway? And how do you calculate that twenty? I’ve had a lot of these questions since I’m a psychology degree student. After the class assessment, I found the answers to these questions and felt that people would understand themselves a little better if they knew what their IQ score was.

First, we need to understand what IQ measures. IQ stands for “Intelligence Quotient.” Intelligence is defined as “a person’s aggregate or global ability to act intelligently. to think rationally and when to deal effectively with his environment,” according to Encyclopedia.com. In other words, your mind is measured according to how you adapt to your environment or culture. People who have little formal education or speak little English still have high IQs, while people “burn a big book” have average scores according to performance. The definition of IQ comes from psychologist David Weschler, who developed a test that most people would accept as IQ. This test is called the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale, or WAIS. The current version is mainly WAIS III. What makes the WAIS III so reliable is that it has been developed across a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, and demographics of people in today’s society. Although no intelligence test can fully measure someone’s abilities, the WAIS III is considered the closest, most powerful test of all. .

The score you see (called the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient or FSIQ) is based on two major test categories: Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. Your verbal IQ (VIQ) scores can show how well you have been educated in our society and have retained this information. Tests in this class will ask questions based on your vocabulary, solving word problems, contrasting and comparing two things, etc. The tester, for example, can ask a question like “what is the difference between a cat and a dog”< /a> with your score depending on how you answer the question.

The Performance IQ (PIQ) measures your ability to absorb some new information. The tests involved in calculating your PIQ involve decoding information, matching symbols, swapping blocks to create specific patterns, etc. For a detailed one, the tester will show you a picture and what you are missing.

In all there are 16 possible tests that you could take, depending on the test taker and your specific situation. For example, if you have Parkinson’s disease and have a concussion, you probably won’t take tests that require hand-eye coordination. We don’t want an accurate display of your intelligence in that area.

After your tests are taken, your scores are divided into four indexes: the Word Comprehension Index and the Working Memory Index for the VIQ; Perceptual Organization Index and Process Mobility Index for PIQ. Then, as already mentioned, the two scores are combined to make up your full scale IQ.

According to the WAIS III scale, 68% of people have FSIQ scores that fall between 80 and 100. 5% of people score below 70 which is generated in mental retardation. “Genius” is considered when people score 140 and above, which accounts for 1 in 400 people. MENSA, an organization of high IQs, accepts members who are in the top 2% of the population’s IQ scores.

By understanding how an IQ score is calculated, you can really measure someone’s intelligence, because sometimes people actually lack in certain areas or exceed in certain areas. You won’t be able to tell this from the surface. Let’s say you know you have an IQ of 100, which is considered the high end of the average in our society. In school you seemed to really understand the books and classes one or two steps ahead of you, but for some reason you had a hard time taking tests with limits.

If you scored 110 on your VIQ, but your PIQ is 90, the tester can dig deeper and find out why there is a 20 point difference between the two areas. By looking at one of the PIQ indexes like the Processing Speed ​​Index, it can be seen that for some reason your processing speed is below all other categories with 80, which is right on the borderline of average. This could lead to developing different abilities through the way your mind works. Maybe you have a mild case of attention-deficit-disorder”>attention deficit disorder. It may also be an area in the brain If you were in an accidental head trauma, the part of your brain that is damaged may have FSIQ information processing. there are many possibilities that just knowing you have an FSIQ score of 100 won’t tell you.

So whether you believe you are smarter than the average bear or dumber than a box of rocks, I recommend taking the WAIS III test or a similar version and taking this information into account. After all, it can be inside your genius inoculation in the brain!

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