It is generally accepted by researchers in psychology that IQ is the best measure of intelligence that we have, although there are dimensions of intelligence such as inventiveness, creativity, and intuition that are not measured on IQ tests. However, the fact that IQ is strongly correlated to intelligence is indisputable. (For the research evidence supporting this visit: http://What Scientific Evidence validates IQ tests as a measure of intelligence? – Intelligence and IQ
There are several reasons for the assertion that IQ is not indicative of intelligence and, of course, they vary in their degree of validity. We present three of the more popular reasons below.
• Since IQ doesn’t measure inventiveness, creativity and intuition, there could be some people, like Richard Feynman with a measured IQ of 125, whose genius was not revealed on the IQ test.
• IQ scores depend to some extent on test-taking ability. Those who are dyslexic, like billionaire Richard Branson, tend to score poorly on IQ tests in spite of their high intelligence. Still others, who are unfamiliar with test items such as those on the Raven’s Progressive Matrices tests, may perform poorly because they don’t understand what is required of them.
• The component of IQ tests dealing with vocabulary and verbal comprehension are somewhat culturally dependent, so intelligent people from backgrounds of low education may underperform on those components of the tests because they lack exposure to a broad vocabulary.
• The belief that all people are intellectual equals and enter the world as a “blank slate,”(tabula rasa) differing only in the experiences that nurture their cognitive skills.
The first three arguments have some validity in asserting that IQ test scores should not be used to “prove” that an individual is incapable of achieving at a certain level. The measured IQs of some individuals can vary by as much as a standard deviation or more (15–20 IQ points) during their lifetime. However, it’s valid to assert that few people of IQ 100 could become a theoretical physicist or research mathematician. It’s also valid to assert that a person of high IQ has the potential to perform well in many fields.
The fourth objection to IQ, (tabula rasa) is rooted in an egalitarian ideology that refuses to acknowledge that the differences in human abilities are derived to a significant extent from genetic differences. Throughout the mid-20th century some psychologists, refusing to accept the connection between genetic differences and cognitive differences among individuals, denigrated the concept of general intelligence, g, , and its measure as IQ. Throughout the last decade of the 20th century and the first two of the 21st century, advances in neurology are revealing individual differences in brain structure that account for differences in neural efficiency and cognitive processing. For a comprehensive overview of these recent discoveries, visit: http://The Neuroscience of Intelligence (Cambridge Fundamentals of Neuroscience in Psychology) by Richard J. Haier.
