[Article]

How IQ Test Scores Work

Friday, May 08, 2009

There's a science behind your IQ Test score. Understand your IQ test score to better understand what your IQ really means.

How IQ Test Scores Work

Ever wonder how IQ Test Scores work?

What is an IQ test and how does is your IQ test scored? Most people assume that an IQ test measures a person's intelligence. That isn't exactly true. Your IQ test score actually measures one's capacity for intelligence. In other words, an IQ test score does not measure learned knowledge, but instead, an IQ test score measures a person's ability to figure things out. This means that if your friend has a high IQ test score, he or she does not necessarily have more knowledge than someone with a lower IQ test score. It means that your friend can learn and apply that information more easily than a person with a lower IQ test score.

Your IQ test score measures:

  • spatial ability: visualizing the manipulation of shapes
  • mathematical ability: solving problems and use logic
  • language ability: including completing sentences and/or recognizing words when letters have been rearranged or removed.
  • memory ability: recalling things presented either visually or orally

My IQ Test Score

Your IQ test score measures basic skills such as problem solving, understanding and memory. The IQ test score determines how quickly and easily you can learn and process information. When you take an IQ test, your IQ test score is then compared with your peers' IQ test scores who are in the same age group as you. Although IQ test scores are measured differently depending upon the particular IQ test used, the average IQ test score is about 100.

What Can Impact My IQ Test Score

IQ test scores can vary by as many as 15 points depending on your mood, your emotional state, the time of day, your biochemistry, or your level of anxiety during the test. There is some evidence that children who receive better nurturing, diet, and intellectual stimulation as babies, often results in a better IQ test score in preschool. However, adult IQ test scores don't change much over time. However, some suggest that maintaining an intellectually stimulating environment, such as learning new skills or solving puzzles, can help strengthen your IQ test score.

How Can I Improve My IQ Test Score

Because your brain is not a static organ, it can be exercised like any other muscle in your body. The basis for your IQ test scores may be genetic in nature, but by exercising your brain you may also increase your IQ test scores. Keep in mind though, that IQ tests measure your ability to understand ideas and not the quantity of your knowledge. Learning more facts doesn't mean a high IQ test score, but learning can help you to develop greater cognitive skills, which will result in a higher IQ test score.

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