WEBVTT - What constitutes a person's IQ?

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<v Speaker 1>to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com where

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<v Speaker 1>smart happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain with today's question. What

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<v Speaker 1>constitutes a person's i Q? The term i Q or

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<v Speaker 1>intelligent quotient generally describes a score on a test that

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<v Speaker 1>rates the subject's cognitive ability as compared to the general population.

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<v Speaker 1>I Q tests use a standardized scale with one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>as the median score on most tests. A score between

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<v Speaker 1>ninety and a hundred ten or the media and plus

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<v Speaker 1>or minus ten indicates average intelligence. A score above one

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<v Speaker 1>thirty indicates exceptional intelligence, and a score below seventy may

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<v Speaker 1>indicate mental retardation. Like their predecessors, modern tests do take

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<v Speaker 1>into account the age of the child when determining an

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<v Speaker 1>IQ score. Children are graded relative to the population at

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<v Speaker 1>their developmental level. What is this cognitive ability being measured?

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<v Speaker 1>Simply put, i Q tests are designed to measure your

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<v Speaker 1>general ability to solve problems and understand concepts. This includes

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<v Speaker 1>reasoning ability, problem solving ability, ability to perceive relationships between things,

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<v Speaker 1>and the ability to store and retrieve information. I Q

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<v Speaker 1>tests measure this general intellectual ability in a number of

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<v Speaker 1>different ways. They may test, for example, spatial ability the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to visualize manipulations of shapes, mathematical ability, the ability

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<v Speaker 1>to solve problems and use logic. Language ability. This could

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<v Speaker 1>include the ability to complete sentences or recognize words when

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<v Speaker 1>letters have been rearranged or removed, and memory ability, the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to recall things presented either visually or orally. Questions

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<v Speaker 1>in each of these categories test for a specific cognitive ability,

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<v Speaker 1>but many psychologists hold that they also indicate general intellectual ability.

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<v Speaker 1>Most people perform better on one type of question than

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<v Speaker 1>on others, but experts have determined that for the most part,

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<v Speaker 1>people who excel in one category do similarly well in

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<v Speaker 1>the other categories, and if someone does poorly in any

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<v Speaker 1>one category, he also does poorly in the others. Based

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<v Speaker 1>on this, these experts theorized there is one general element

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<v Speaker 1>of intellectual ability that determines other specific cognitive abilities. Ideally,

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<v Speaker 1>and i Q test measures this general factor of intelligence

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<v Speaker 1>abbreviated as G. The best tests therefore feature questions from

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<v Speaker 1>many different categories of intellectual ability, so that the test

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<v Speaker 1>isn't weighted toward one specific skill. Because i Q tests

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<v Speaker 1>measure your ability to understand ideas and not the quantity

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<v Speaker 1>of your knowledge, learning new information does not automatically increase

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<v Speaker 1>your i Q. Learning may exercise your mind, however, which

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<v Speaker 1>could help to develop greater cognitive skills, but scientists do

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<v Speaker 1>not fully understand this relationship yet. The connection between learning

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<v Speaker 1>and mental ability is still largely unknown, as are the

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<v Speaker 1>workings of the brain and the nature of intellectual ability.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, intellectual ability does seem to depend more on

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<v Speaker 1>genetic factors than on environmental factors, but most experts agree

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<v Speaker 1>that environment plays some significant role in its development. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>everyone wants to know can you increase your i Q score?

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<v Speaker 1>There is some evidence that children develop higher intellectual ability

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<v Speaker 1>if they receive better nurturing and diet as babies, and

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<v Speaker 1>a higher degree of intellectual stimulation in preschool tends to

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<v Speaker 1>boost children's IQ scores for a few years of elementary school,

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<v Speaker 1>but it doesn't permanently increase i Q scores for the

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<v Speaker 1>most part, adult i Q scores don't significantly increase over time.

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<v Speaker 1>There's evidence that maintaining an intellectually stimulating atmosphere, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>by learning new skills or solving puzzles, boost some cognitive ability,

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<v Speaker 1>similar to the way maintaining an exercise regimen boost physical ability.

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<v Speaker 1>But these changes aren't permanent and do not have much

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<v Speaker 1>effect on i Q scores, So your i Q score

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<v Speaker 1>is relatively stable no matter what education you acquire. This

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<v Speaker 1>does not mean that you can increase your intelligence. I

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<v Speaker 1>Q tests are only one imperfect method of measuring certain

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<v Speaker 1>aspects of intellectual ability. A lot of critics point out

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<v Speaker 1>that i Q tests don't measure creativity, social skills, wisdom,

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<v Speaker 1>acquired abilities, or a host of other things we consider

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<v Speaker 1>to be aspects of intelligence. The value of i Q

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<v Speaker 1>tests is that they measure general cognitive ability, which has

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<v Speaker 1>been proven to be fairly accurate as an indicator of

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<v Speaker 1>intellectual potential. There is a high positive correlation between i

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<v Speaker 1>Q and success in school and the workplace, but there

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<v Speaker 1>are many many cases where i Q and success do

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<v Speaker 1>not coincide. Be sure to check out our new video podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff from the Future. Join How Stuff Work staff as

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