Does the IQ test actually work? What is its history?

Safalta Published by: Ishika Kumar Updated Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:43 AM IST

Highlights

if you wanna know how IQ tests actually work and their history.

Scientists Paul Broca and Sir Francis Galton were among the first to consider evaluating IQ. The idea was to use a human skull measurement to gauge intelligence—the bigger the skull, the smarter the person. Wilhelm Wundt, a different scientist, determined intellect by introspection. IQ is a form of a standard score that shows how mentally capable a person is in relation to his or her peer group. The peer group score, which equals an IQ of 100, is calculated by administering the same test to numerous participants from every socio-economic category in society and averaging their results.
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1. Modern IQ Test

French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created a test in 1905 for children who were having academic difficulties. The researchers created this exam in response to a request from the French Ministry of Education for a test that could discriminate between children with mental retardation and children with average intelligence. The exam originated the idea of an intelligence test and was created to identify which kids needed individualized care. The Simon-Binet intelligence test is the name of the assessment.
Researchers thought that cognitive talents like verbal reasoning, memory, and visual-spatial skills were indicators of underlying general intelligence, or the "g factor," in the late 19th century.
To determine each of those abilities and combine the results into a single score, Simon and Binet created a series of tests. Every age group had questions that were modified, and a child's score showed how they did in comparison to other kids their own age.
 

2. Calculation of IQ score

An individual's IQ score is obtained by multiplying their score by 100 and dividing it by their age. Today, a sample population is defined as having an IQ score of 100, with 68 percent of the population scoring 15 out of 100.
Simon and Binet believed that the skills their test measured would be a good indicator of overall intelligence. However, there is still no agreed-upon definition of general intelligence. This gave room for individuals to exploit the exam to support their own, preexisting notions about IQ.
 

3. Why an IQ test was needed?

What initially aimed to identify students who required academic assistance swiftly turned into a tendency to categorize people in other ways, frequently on the basis of seriously faulty views. When the US military utilized an intelligence exam during World War I, it was one of the first major large-scale implementations. The examination was used to pick candidates and then evaluate them before officer training.
Many people at the time supported the idea of eugenics, which held that desirable and undesirable genetic qualities in humans could and should be regulated by selective breeding.
This line of reasoning had numerous flaws, not the least of which was the idea that intelligence was not only fixed and inherited but also related to a person's race.

4. Discriminatory uses of IQ test

The US Supreme Court endorsed Virginia's decision in 1924 to authorize the forced sterilization of those with low IQ scores.
Children with low IQ scores were allowed to be murdered by the government in Nazi Germany. The Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust, and the subsequent usage of IQ testing all raised ethical and logical objections to their respective justifications. Scientists started to compile data on how the environment affected IQ. While an illustration, throughout the 20th century, new generations continuously outperformed each previous generation on older exams as IQ testing was frequently calibrated. The Flynn Effect is the name for this occurrence. Environmental improvements in the form of better diet, healthcare, and education are most likely to blame.
Psychologists tried to utilize IQ tests to assess conditions other than general intellect, such as schizophrenia, depression, etc., around the middle of the 20th century. This diagnosis made use of a subset of the tests to assess IQ and partially depended on the clinical judgment of the elevators, a method that later research proved didn't offer clinically meaningful information. Although we now have a better method for spotting test bias, IQ tests still use many of the same types of questions and designs like the early tests.
 

5. Is the IQ test worthy?

Contrary to the advice of numerous experts, a similar technique still involves diagnosing learning disorders using subtest results. IQ tests are still widely used by psychologists to identify intellectual disabilities, and the results are frequently used to choose the right assisted living, job training, and educational support. Results of intelligence tests are frequently used to defend terrible laws and irrational beliefs. This does not, however, imply that the test is pointless because it actually assesses the ability to reason and solve problems. But it could not be the same as evaluating a person's potential.

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French psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon created a test in 1905 for youngsters who were having academic difficulties. Their approach served as the foundation for the contemporary IQ test because it was intended to identify which kids needed specialized care.

Does the IQ test actually work?

IQ tests evaluate a wide range of abilities, including verbal comprehension, working memory, and fluid reasoning. But he adds that the evidence indicates IQ tests should only be used to assess a person's general intellect because they are currently ill-equipped to produce meaningful results for these individual abilities.

Who first use IQ test?

The first exam that resembled a contemporary intelligence test was created by Frenchman Alfred Binet (1857–1911) around the turn of the 20th century.

How IQ tests are biased?

Some academics claim that IQ tests are skewed toward the cultures in which they were produced, primarily white, Western society since intelligence is "culturally distinctive." They could therefore be a concern in situations with a variety of cultures.

Who has the highest IQ ever?

With an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 228—among the highest ever—Marilyn Vos Savant won the St.

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