IQ Tests: The Scam In The Concept of Intelligence.



The normal distribution curve

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests play a very important role in our society. They are used, for example, to identify both children who may need extra help in their education and those who are very bright and should be given special education to enhance their abilities. IQ tests are also used for job recruitment and training purposes. Whether they are used at school or in the workplace, the rationale for using IQ tests is that they are good measure of intelligence.

Before establishing whether IQ tests are really good measure of intelligence, it is important to understand briefly what is meant by the concept of intelligence. Intelligence simply refers to the ability to understand the world and cope with its challenges. In other words, thinking is not possible without intelligence. It is assumed that the ability to understand difficult tasks, reason and solve problems are all due to intelligence. However, the question that arises is whether IQ tests are the right instruments for measuring our abilities to perform all these activities.

Unfortunately, IQ tests are not good indicators of our intelligence. IQ tests, for example, are Eurocentric. Although they are used worldwide by both western and non-western countries, IQ tests were originally developed for Europeans. Consider the two most popular IQ tests in the world – the Stanford – Binet Scale and the Wechsler Scale, for example. The Stanford -Binet Intelligence Scale was developed by two French psychologists, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, in 1905 to identify and help French school children who could not benefit from normal classroom instructions.

The Wechsler Scale was developed shortly after the Stanford - Binet Scale by the American psychologist, David Wechsler, for a similar reason. For this simple fact that they were primarily developed for helping European children struggling with education, the skills and abilities assessed by IQ tests are based on European concepts of skills and abilities. These may not necessarily reflect the concepts of skills and abilities (intelligence) in non-western societies.

The scores on IQ tests are also a function of the test-taker familiarity with the tests. That is, the ability to perform well or less well on IQ tests will depend on whether the test-taker is familiar with the IQ test questions. Consider the ability to pass a driving test, for example. The more driving practice or lessons you undertake before a driving test the more likely you will pass the test. In contrary, the less driving practice or lessons you undertake prior to a driving test the less likely you will pass the test. Therefore, people who practice IQ tests questions in advance are more likely to get high scores than people who do not practice IQ test questions in advance.

Furthermore, the determination of IQ test scores is arbitrary. Typical IQ test Scores are graded on scales. The numbers on these grades are interpreted as follows: between 0 and 69 is intellectually deficient, 70 and 89 is dull, 90 and 99 is average, 100 and 109 is high average, 110 and 119 is above average, 120 and 129 is superior, and the score of 130 or above is considered very superior. From this example, if test-taker A scores 89 on the test he or she will be considered dull normal, but if B scores 90 he or she will be considered average in intelligence. This arbitrary distinction will be made between A and B even though the difference between their scores is only 1.

Next time you obtain a lower IQ test score than your friend, do not jump into the conclusion that your friend is more intelligent than you. After all, your friend may have cheated by practising the test questions in advance while you have only tried the test questions for the first time during the IQ test.