How is the intellectual coefficient measured?

Ourselves measures and weighs are relatively everyday habits. The scale and the measuring tape give us a fact, indisputable, we like it more or less. Almost 80 kilos, 1.65 high and it is over. It is not questioned because there is nothing to ask (unless the balance is poorly balanced). When estimating intelligence, however, the thing changes because not everyone agrees that a figure – the score obtained in the tests that measure the coefficient or intellectual quotient (CI) – is the most honest or valid criteria to determine our mental skills because they consider that they go much further.

In fact, these tests are still discussion and are very questioned. A normal critic is that They only evaluate a limited series of intellectual skillsEspecially with how quickly each person solves a series of insignificant problems that make the minimum possible errors, instead of measuring whether they are able to solve significant problems that make as many productive errors if necessary, regardless of the time they take. Other critics claim that these tests They discriminate minorities, are worked out according to the Western concept of intelligence.

However, his defenders insure that These statements do not correspond to the scientific reality. “It is true that measuring the reaction times is a way to know the cognitive or attention efficiency of a person, but the tests that measure earlier are increasing intelligence factors, which make it possible to identify the intellectual capacity of the person,” José Antonio Portellano -Laivers. “In addition, There are cultural -free intelligence certificate, which measure the intelligence potential in every person, Regardless of his socio -economic, educational or cultural level. Similarly, these tests must adapt to every country, with differentiated scales. For example, the most famous intelligence test in the world, the Wechsler’s scales, is of American origin, but has been adapted to the population of many countries. Spain itself has his own versions of this test, “he says.

That must be noted The results obtained in the intelligence tests are not something unchangeable And that there are circumstances that can influence the result, such as the mood or health of the individual when performing it, or even the earlier knowledge of these tests. Yet they are considered A good work toolProvided that they were rigorously designed by a team of qualified professionals.

«These tests have been performed for more than a century if they had not had a validity, they would have stopped using large wars. That they have sustained is an empirical demonstration of its usefulness. Skepticism around them responds to a lack of knowledge about how they work. It is not the same to find out ten questions and hang it on the internet to serve as a hobby that only damages the image of these tests, then to design a test that has passed and meets the quality filters and requirements required by the professional scientific committees, ”says Portellano.

Intelligence is growing

The first author to develop a method to measure intelligence was Alfred BinetAlthough who proposed the concept of intellectual quotient, William was Stern. This unit of measurement was initially obtained Divide the mental age between the chronological age of the person and the multiplication of the result by 100. If the mental age was greater than the chronological, the CI of the individual was above average, but if it was less, his intelligence was a shortage. Most people get a result around 100 because in general our mental age is equal to or similar to our chronological era. From the Stanford-Binet test, others, such as Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test or Wechsler’s Scales, which are used the most.

Each of them is different. Some contain words or figures and require specific cultural knowledge (such as vocabulary) and others only contain forms and designs that only require simple universal knowledgeSuch as distinguishing the difference between much and little or between one pattern and the other. “There is no test that measures all information factors at 100%, but they calculate general intelligence (known as ‘factor g’), which our ability to solve problems in a logical way, regardless of our cultural education, so they apply to every population group,” Portellano explains.

The specialist also emphasizes that the brain is an organ with great plasticity and that intelligence can increase or decrease, depending on how we stimulate it. «Babies of mothers suffering from malnutrition during pregnancy usually have a lower IC, while Those who have more access to education, culture and healthy eating from childhood can be a higher CI ». And he adds a Simile: «Who does Sports Daily has a better physical form than those who stay for many hours for television. Similarly, those who practice mental activity more often (reading, learning languages, touching an instrument …), strengthens brain circuits and maintains their intelligence better ». Portellano also tries to demystify that our IC reduces the accused at the age, because it is already known that they can delay with the right practice to the effects of Alzheimer’s. “

Moreover, he points out that the expression of Intelligence has been transformed. «Before it was necessary to have a card and to understand to be determined somewhere by the car and now not because we have geolocation programs such as GPS. Neither do we have to remember many things, because we immediately have a lot of information in the smart devices with the internet. These intelligence modalities are not atrophy, they simply transform because new ones are created, such as video games ». In reality, There are indications that humanity as a whole is increasingly intelligent, Well, there is less and less malnutrition, better health and more global access to culture, it is known as ‘Flynn Effect’.

So some of the exercises that this test contains are aimed at measuring general intelligence. It is just an example to have your brain tested, it will not help you to know your intellectual quotient.