IQ test - What are they, what are they for and how are they classified?

Intelligence is defined as that ability that humans possess to learn, understand, reason, interpret; which allows them to create an idea of ​​reality and develop skills to solve the different problems that arise. In the following article we will explain a way to measure this capacity, and the different types of intelligence test that exist.

What is an intelligence test?

G. Boring has defined them simply as any test by which intelligence can be measured. This is due to the fact that it has different definitions from a theoretical and operational point of view.It is important to note that there is the so-called Gardner theory, which states that there are seven forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily kinestheticl; and two forms of personal intelligence (intrapersonal and interpersonall). The first three are measured through intelligence tests.

What are intelligence tests for?

They allow to determine, or to establish the high and low levels of mental ability in the individuals; in order to develop studies in the cognitive field and their personality. This is very useful in the diagnosis of mental disabilities in both children and adults, and in turn allows their placement in special programs adapted to their abilities, which in turn facilitate their development.

However, intelligence assessments Through tests they not only seek to identify delays or complex psychiatric conditions. They are also very useful to recognize gifted minds and in the same way locate them in the fields in which they can function satisfactorily; in which their development and productivity are promoted.

Other uses of intelligence tests are:

• They serve for the assignment of educational and vocational counseling and rehabilitation.
• In the area of ​​education, these tests are used for the process of selecting and placing students in certain institutions, especially with regard to higher education.
• In the labor area, they are also applied for the diagnosis of disabilities related to work, precisely due to the demand for insurance.
• In the selection of personnel suitable for certain tasks in different business, industrial or government organizations.
• In the field of psychology, intelligence tests allow the psychodiagnosis of child and adult patients in different clinical contexts.
• In addition, they allow evaluating the effectiveness of the different psychological treatments applied to patients with certain disorders.

Types of intelligence tests

All these tests have a common goal, which is the measurement of intelligence. However, there will be differences between one and the other according to the methodology used, and this is what leads to the need for their classification. The most common way to classify these tests is according to the number of individuals to whom it is applied. In this way, we have two main types of intelligence tests: individual and collective or groupor; from which various tests proposed by specialists throughout history derive. A detailed description of them is provided below.

Individual intelligence test

Individual intelligence tests are those that are aimed at the general evaluation of certain abilities in a single person at a time. In view of this, it may be through them that a more effective evaluation of the individual can be achieved. This is because the examiner will be more willing to observe certain behaviors such as anguish, distraction, frustration, and problem-solving strategy, and you will be able to take steps to stimulate it successfully.

Among the main characteristics of these types of intelligence tests are the following:

• They have a global focus, as they seek to assess cognitive abilities in a general way.
• Compared with collective tests, examiners can pay more attention to the examinees in individual tests in order to obtain more reliable results.
• They are used in clinics, hospitals and places where clinical diagnoses are carried out.

For the most part, the individual intelligence tests used to assess intellectual abilities in children and adults under different contexts have been derived from the works of Lewis Terman and David Wechsler. However, there are other individual tests developed for the mental evaluation of children and adults with linguistic or physical problems; these are also based on the works of Terman and Wechsler, but are different from the first.

However, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale It is the one that has long served as the standard for measuring individual intelligence in children. Terman and Wechsler worked on several occasions to improve this scale. The results of each modification are detailed below:

1. 1916 scale: It was a scale in which the subtests were organized according to the chronological ages of the individuals to whom it was applied. The capacities of the child were evaluated from two years to adulthood. Mental age and intelligence quotient would depend on the subtests passed at successive age levels.
2. 1937 scale: In this case, the examiner evaluated the child's baseline age, then the age limit and finally calculated the mental age and the intelligence coefficient according to the statutes of the 1916 scale. This is the second edition of the Stanford scale. -Binet, and had an improvement in his standardization, and with a lower limit and an upper limit higher than in the previous one.
3. 1960 scale: As in previous editions, it sought to measure the intelligence of the individual from the age of 2 until they reached adulthood. An alternate subtest was introduced to serve as a criterion when another was applied incorrectly, or was not applied.
4. Fourth edition of the Standford Binet scale: This scale upgrade included much more complex criteria than the previous ones. Its application is intended to diagnose specific learning disabilities, cases of mental retardation, or gifted individuals. Before its execution, the Route Test, to determine the level at which the other tests will start. It lasts approximately 75 minutes, but this will vary according to the age of the examinee.

1. The Wechsler tests: The Stanford-Binet test included criteria applicable to adults, however, it was necessary to develop different types of individual intelligence tests for adult individuals. David Wechsler took charge of this task, publishing the first of these tests in 1939. However, some of his works are described below:

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: It consists of five performance subtests and six verbal subtests, for which about 75 minutes are required. The following topics are evaluated here: information, picture completion, picture ordering, cube design, arithmetic, object assembly, comprehension, digit symbols, and similarities. Its standardization covers a range of people aged between 16 and 74 years.
• WAIS III: The information, vocabulary and comprehension subtests are taken into consideration here. Its standardization includes adults between 16 and 84 years old. The relationship between the intellectual capacity and the memory of each individual is evaluated.
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition: This is a test designed for children between the ages of 6 and 16 years old. It includes the following verbal subtests: information, similarities, arithmetic, vocabulary, comprehension and digit interval. Also sub-tests of execution: completion of drawings and images, coding, arrangement of drawings, design of cubes, assembly of objects, search for symbols and mazes, although the latter two are complementary.

There are also many other types of individual intelligence tests apart from those subjected to the Standford-Binet scale and the Wechsler tests. Among them we can mention:

• Differential ability scales.
• Detroit Test of Learning Skill.
• Kaufman's intelligence tests.
• Woodcock-Johnson III tests of cognitive abilities.
• Das-Naglieri cognitive assessment system.
• Non-verbal tests for the disabled.

Collective or group intelligence test

In general, collective intelligence tests focus on predicting or determining the academic or work performance of a certain group of individuals. Among the most outstanding characteristics of collective intelligence tests we can mention:

• Contrary to what is believed, intelligence tests applied to groups can produce much more reliable results than individual ones in certain contexts.
• Sometimes they are cheaper than individual tests.
• It is used in the selection in the educational and labor fields.

Collective intelligence tests can be applied to large groups of adults, or a small number of young children, whose age is between 5 and 6 years of age. During the application of the latter, it is necessary for there to be people who verify that the examinees fully understand the instructions and steps of the test, such as starting and ending at the indicated time, for example.

A kind of Inteligence test Collective can simply consist of a set of multiple-choice questions arranged in a spiral-omnibus model, in which items of equal difficulty are grouped together, and those of different difficulty are ordered in increasing order. Another type may be the performance of sub-tests at different times.

These collective tests originated from the participation of a student known as Arthur Otis in a course on the Standford-Bine Intelligence Scalet dictated by Lewis Ternan himself. Otis suggested adapting different tasks to the Standford-Binet test in pencil and paper, to which over time other author tasks were added and formed what was termed the Army Alpha Test. The latter was a non-verbal linguistic test that was carried out for the selection of soldiers and their respective positions.

However, there are other types of group intelligence tests, among which the most outstanding are:

• Cognitive skills test: It is the fifth edition of the Cognitive Skills Test and seeks to measure children's abilities to solve different problems, through verbal, quantitative and spatial symbols. And it is precisely for this reason that it lasts for 30 minutes, and each of its levels is made up of a Verbal Battery, a Quantitative Battery and a Non-Verbal Battery, which in turn are subdivided.
• Otis-Lennon Test of School Ability: It is applied to measure picture reasoning, figure reasoning, verbal comprehension, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning in children from preschool to 12th grade. This encompasses aspects of the Otis Self-Administered Mental Ability Tests, known by the acronym OLSAT; and the Otis Quick Score Mental Ability Tests and the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test.
• Wonderlic Staff Test: It is a brief intelligence test whose questions are based on definitions, spatial relationships and the implementation of logical and arithmetic thinking, as well as the application of analogies. It is based on the Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability.

As you can see, the scope of the measurement of human intelligence is quite broad, and will depend on factors such as the number of individuals under study and their age. Based on this and other factors described in this article, the method that best suits the individual or group of people will be chosen.

We hope that this post about intelligence tests has been very useful. If you are interested in learning more about the subject of thinking, intelligence and the different cognitive abilities that the human brain confers, we invite you to review other articles on this page.