What constitutes a person's IQ?
by Marshall Brain from: http://www.howstuffworks.com/question455.htm

What is this cognitive ability being measured? Simply put, IQ tests (of varying reliability) are designed to measure your general ability to solve problems and understand concepts. This includes reasoning ability, problem-solving ability, ability to perceive relationships between things and ability to store and retrieve information. IQ tests measure this general intellectual ability in a number of different ways. They may test:

Because IQ tests measure your ability to understand ideas and not the quantity of your knowledge, learning new information does not automatically increase your IQ. Learning may exercise your mind, however, which could help you to develop greater cognitive skills, but scientists do not fully understand this relationship. The connection between learning and mental ability is still largely unknown, as are the workings of the brain and the nature of intellectual ability. Intellectual ability does seem to depend more on genetic factors than on environmental factors, but most experts agree that environment plays some significant role in its development.

But can you increase your IQ score? There is some evidence that children develop higher intellectual ability if they receive better nurturing and diet as babies, and a higher degree of intellectual stimulation in preschool tends to boost children's IQ scores for a few years of elementary school but does not permanently increase IQ scores [See Head Start results]. (new finding: 2005 research indicates that children's IQ scores improved 5 points after studying Chinese characters) For the most part, adult IQ scores don't significantly change over time. There is evidence that maintaining an intellectually stimulating atmosphere (by learning new skills or solving puzzles, for example) boosts some cognitive ability, similar to the way maintaining an exercise regimen boosts physical ability, but these changes aren't permanent and do not have much effect on IQ scores.

So your IQ score is relatively stable, no matter what education you acquire. This does not mean that you can't increase your intelligence. IQ tests are only one imperfect method of measuring certain aspects of intellectual ability. A lot of critics point out that IQ tests don't measure creativity, social skills, wisdom, acquired abilities or a host of other things we consider to be aspects of intelligence. The value of IQ tests is that they measure general cognitive ability, which has been proven to be a fairly accurate indicator of intellectual potential. There is a high positive correlation between IQ and success in school and the work place, but there are many, many cases where IQ and success do not coincide.

For a good quality, FREE IQ TEST see http://www.iqtestexperts.com/ This site advertises: "Do you know what is your IQ? Find out in 10 minutes. Take our IQ test and get your IQ score for free!" While this may sound like many online IQ tests that Sloan does not recommend, this particular IQ website seems to offer a good free test, along with useful, unbiased information on IQ.

IQ and Emotional Intelligence "Unlike intelligence quotient (IQ), which is considered an absolute given from birth, emotional intelligence is thought to be cultivated and enhanced throughout life."

IQ and jobs (from http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq04.htm)  IQ gives a good indication of the occupational group that a person will end up in, though not of course the specific occupation. In their book, Know Your Child's IQ, Glen Wilson and Diana Grylls outline occupations typical of various IQ levels:   Click for more detailed information on actual IQ in jobs

Go to: How male and female IQ scores differ

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