Ari2

It depends on the test. There are tests that attempt to minimize the effect of cultural knowledge, others that rely on more abstract reasoning, and some that can be done on completely nonverbal, nonliterate people.

I don't put a lot of stock in IQ tests, although I understand a school's use of them. But I think, as NiallNai pointed out, a person's performance on a test may vary depending on circumstance. Especially at such a young age I would think you could get big variations in performance based on the ability/desire on testing day to cooperate, concentrate, and answer correctly.

I hope you get some answers at the meeting, Sha'.

Music-dad

Also, music is VERY mathematical, on so many levels. I've studied articles wherein math marks of candidates, have improved by up to 26%.

musicmom

I'll know more on the 22nd. I just don't get how she can be so much like her brother yet not rate as he does. Just odd.
Thanks md on that one. I will look into that.

musicmom

Music-dad

My pleasure MM.

Odd little tidbit, my manager is a girl in her early 30's, we had been friends for years before she took over the biz side of things for me...the reason I chose her is that we are so much alike, great friends, and if things get into trivia, history kinda stuff, it's usually a draw. Our views are usually almost identical, but we can enhance and build on each others ideas.

One day for a joke, a friend said we should try an online IQ test in competition with each other (each needed a witness chosen by the other to make it fair)...the online IQ test was selected by a third party. We both did the test in our homes and met the next day with the witnesses. Both witnesses had our results written down on sheets and placed them on the table.









Score: 133 to 133
We were totally blown away!!!...now when we want to politely insult each other, we say "You're such a 132"

Music-dad

Well that's great, because it was term papers like yours that lead to further scientific studies which only confirm what you and I (and most every musician on the planet) already knew.

Quick Music Lesson:

1 Quarter Note = 2 Eight Notes
1 Eighth Note = 2 Sixteenth Notes
1 Sixteenth Note = 2 Thirty Second Notes

Quick Math Lesson:

(1) 1/4 = (2) 1/8
(1) 1/8 = (2) 1/16
(1) 1/16 = (2) 1/32

Identical thinking.

hwnorth

Totally agree on the music ....

wow ..what a profound post ... lmao

NiallNai

To add to what Ari2 was saying: It isn't so much that IQ tests tested knowledge of modern life, in recent years there has been a huge concern that IQ tests are culturally insensitive. I remember one story a professor told me about people in another country being given an IQ test where they had to identify what people were doing in a picture (playing tennis) and most of the people didn't get it right. Not because they were of low intelligence but because they didn't know what tennis was.

Making a test that is "culture-free" means removing items or tasks that people in other countries might not have been exposed to. So, as Ari2 said, you have tests that examine abstract reasoning, the ability to remember and mentally manipulate information, recognize and complete patterns, attend to detail.

There are still some tasks that may be considered culturally insensitive, such as defining words. Another task that is still on the Wechsler tests is answering general knowledge questions, almost like trivia questions. This used to be a staple of this series of tests but because of current theory and design it is now an optional test. And a lot of the questions on were anything but modern. While this isn't one of the questions on that section, this is an example of the type of early question.

How many months are in a year?

Let me tell you how disheartening it is to have students that can't answer that question. And I'm not talking about cognitively impaired students.

In a class I took, someone did ask how to raise your intelligence. The instructor said, "Read."

The reason being a good vocabulary is the one thing that correlates highly with higher IQs. When you look at the manuals that come with the IQ tests, vocabulary is usually the one with the highest correlation.

__________________

musicmom

I'm going to get my son's score on the 22nd and also my daughters. I'm curious to how they compare.
Interesting on the music.............So why can't I do math better? Dang it. lol

budnkota

we all know the classical music/IQ claims.... I've read something that found that it is only a temporary increase, however. Guess play some bach on the way to the next test!

There are so many forms of intelligence, however, and an IQ test is just something people made up. It's only testing what its creators thought to be important indicators of intelligence. I don't think that that's really something you can accurately test at all. To me, that's just an unimportant number.