REFELCTIVE THINKING RESEARCH

Do you need high IQ to be successful?

INTRODUCTION

Intelligent Quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from several standardize tests designed to

asses’ human intelligence. It is known that psychologist William Stern coined the abbreviation

“IQ” from the German term “Intelligenzquotient”,

Historically, IQ is a score obtained by dividing a person’s mental age and score, obtained by

administering an intelligence test, by the person's chronological age, both expressed in terms of

years and months. The resulting fraction is multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score. When

current IQ test were developed, the median raw score of the norming sample is defined as IQ 100

and scores each standard deviation (SD) up or down are defined as 15 IQ points greater or less,

although this was not always so historically. By this definition, approximately two-thirds of the

population scores are between IQ 85 and IQ 115. About 2.5 percent of the population scores

above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70.

Mental testing expanded to the evaluation of adolescents and adults, however, there was a need

for a measure of intelligence that did not depend upon mental age. Accordingly, the intelligence

quotient (IQ) was developed. ... The narrow definition of IQ is a score on an intelligence test ...

where 'average' intelligence, that is the median level of performance on an intelligence test,

receives a score of 100, and other scores are assigned so that the scores are distributed normally

about 100, with a standard deviation of 15. Some of the implications are that:
 1. Approximately two-thirds of all scores lie between 85 and 115.

2. Five percent (1/20) of all scores are above 125, and one percent (1/100) are above 135.

Similarly, five percent are below 75 and one percent below 65.

Mental age is a concept related to intelligence. It looks at how a specific child, at a

specific age—usually today, now—performs intellectually, compared to average intellectual

performance for that physical age, measured in years. The physical age of the child is compared

to the intellectual performance of the child, based on performance in tests and live assessments

by a psychologist. Scores achieved by the child in question are compared to scores in the middle

of a bell curve for children of the same age.

Scoring was based on standardized, average mental levels for various age groups. The whole

idea behind this standardized test and scale is to determine a child’s “mental age”. The concept

of “mental age” is actually a test score (determined by the intelligence test) to calculate a

person’s IQ. The intelligence quotient is found by dividing the mental age (test score) by the

chronological age and multiplying by 100, i.e. IQ = (MA / CA) X 100. Average mental age

(MA) scores correspond to average chronological age (CA) scores. A “normal” person would

have an IQ of 100. Bright children attain higher scores, while dull children attain scores lower

than 100. Although the concept of IQ is still with us today, they may be given different names

like “cognitive-ability tests” or “aptitude tests”.

What we should understand here is that the term “mental age” does not refer to your “real” age.

It merely tells your mental capabilities based on a specific intelligence test. The “mental age”

that some websites claim to measure is definitely misleading as the tests do not necessarily

measure intelligence and cognitive abilities. With only very few questions (20-30 questions are
considered few in the field of psychometric testing), the tests are not accurate in measuring

anything, actually. Such tests only ask some questions about your preference and knowledge

about very limited aspects of your life.

Originally, the differences between mental age and chronological age were used to compute

the intelligent quotient, or IQ. This was computed using the ratio method, with the following

formula:

Mental age ÷ Physical age × 100 = IQ

No matter what the child's chronological age, if the mental age is the same as the

chronological age, then the IQ will equal 100.

Modern intelligence tests, including the current Stanford-Binet test, no longer compute

scores using the IQ formula. Instead, intelligence tests give a score that reflects how far the

person's performance deviates from the average performance of others who are the same age,

arbitrarily defined as an average score of 100.

The question is, do you need high IQ to be successful?

Yes, I need high IQ to be successful, Why? It is because that IQ is a measurement of

person’s reasoning ability, and people specially always depend on it almost every day. Logical

and Creative reasoning is based on how high your IQ does, and it can affect your performance on

which level you would excel most. It is always important to any individual to enhance IQ, but

first you must identify on which group or what capability you belong. The Intelligent Quotient

has become the go-to term during discussions of a person’s mental abilities. By trying to measure

someone’s intelligence, a debate has been fueled about whether that person has any control over
his IQ whatsoever. Some believe that it might simply be affected by the genes they inherit, while

others believe that it is nourished through hard work as they grow older. Whatever may be the

case, one thing is for sure. IQ is the best measure of intelligence. As of now.

The highest IQ score ever recorded (in ascending order)

1. Stephen Hawking (IQ score – 160)

2. Albert Einstein (IQ score – 160 – 190)

3. Judit Polgar (IQ score – 170)

4. Philip Emeagwali (IQ score – 190)

5. Garry Kasparov (IQ score – 194)

6. Christopher Michael Langan (IQ score – 190 – 210)

7. Edith Stern (IQ score – 200+)

8. Kim Ung-Yong (IQ score – 210)

9. Christopher Hirata (IQ score – 225)

10. Marilyn Vos Savant (IQ score – 228)

11. Terence Tao (IQ score – 225 – 230)

12. William James Sidis (IQ score – 250-300)

You already saw the list of the people with the highest IQ in the world, but please remember

that IQ tests are not necessarily all that accurate in estimating someone’s overall intelligence,

even if they are good markers for specific cognitive skills, such as mathematical ability and

logical reasoning. Also, note that this list is NOT an exhaustive one, and therefore may not

feature the name of every high-IQ individual.

But, a high IQ doesn’t necessarily indicate smartness, having a high IQ does not necessarily mean

that the person is intelligent or very ‘smart’. The problem with IQ tests is that although they’re

pretty good at assessing our deliberative skills (which involve how we use our working memory

and reason), but they are not able to asses our inclination to use them when the situation demands.

This is a very important difference.

According to as Daniel Kahneman, a professor at Princeton University, intelligence is

about brain power whereas rational thinking is about control.

“Some people who are intellectually able do not bother to engage very much in analytical thinking

and are inclined to rely on their intuitions,” says Jonathan Evans, a cognitive psychologist at the

University of Plymouth, UK. “Other people will check out their gut feeling and reason it through

and make sure they have a justification for what they’re doing.

A high IQ is like height in a basketball player. It is certainly a crucial trait, provided all other

‘things’ are equal. But if all other things aren’t equal, then the player needs a lot of more than just

height in order to be a good basketball player. Similarly, there is a lot more to being a good thinker

than having a high IQ.

 (Stern 1914, pp. 48–58 (1912 original German edition by Stern); 70–84 (1914 English translation

by Whipple),

 Glossary of Important Assessment and Measurement Terms. Philadelphia, PA: National Council

on Measurement in Education. 2016. intelligence quotient (IQ). Retrieved 2017-07-01.

 Gottfredson 2009, pp. 31–32,

 Neisser, Ulrich (1997). "Rising Scores on Intelligence Tests". American Scientist. 85: 440–

447. Bibcode:1997AmSci. 85..440N. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.

Retrieved 1 December2017.

 Hunt 2011, p. 5

 https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/who-are-some-of-the-people-with-the-highest-iq.html

 "Glossary of Psychological Terms". American Psychological Association (From Gerrig, Richard

J. & Philip G. Zimbardo. Psychology and Life, 16/e. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston,

MA. 2002. Pearson Education.)

 "Intelligence Tests". Users.ipfw.edu. Retrieved 2014-03-27.

 Stoslopf, Alan (16 December 2009). "Theories of Intelligence". In Provenzo Jr., Eugene R.;

Provenzo, Asterie B. Encyclopedia of the social and cultural foundations of education. Thousand

Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 444–446.

 http://www.unc.edu/~rooney/iq.htm
 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intelligence-and-the-brain/201009/the-confusing-

concept-iq

 http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/bin/report?req=MTF8MTMwNHw2OTEyODl8MH

wx&refempt=1231746467.11asdf

 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201206/what-s-your-true-age

 http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.loh/alfred_binet

 http://users.ipfw.edu/abbott/120/IntelligenceTests.html