IQ Tests and the Highest IQ in the World

IQ Tests and the Highest IQ in the World

Did you know which countries have the highest IQ in the world? IQ is a measure of intelligence. Four of the the countries ranking the highest on average IQ are all in Asia. Without stereotyping, Asian parents place greater emphasis on educational success than other cultures.

Interestingly, psychologists state that there are multiple intelligences. According to the multiple intelligence theory, there are several types of intelligence. For example, there is musical intelligence, a realm dealing with musical ability. The theory is studied under the umbrella of cognitive psychology.

Another interesting measure of intelligence is the less known EQ, or emotional intelligence. The operationalisation focuses on the way people manage their own and others’ emotions. EQ is believed to be a more accurate predictor of occupational success in such fields and positions such as management.

Along these lines, IQ tests were developed for several uses. For instance, children’s placement in schools and appropriate academic paths. Alfred Binet is considered the founder of IQ testing. Career avenues in the army used to be determined based on IQ scores as well. A problem with these techniques, is that cultural background influences performance on such tests. If English is not your native language, you might score lower than a person of similar intelligence whose first language is English.

Venus. Photo by Elena

The most notorious IQ tests are the Weschler scales for adults and children. However, IQ alone fails to portray the whole picture. To illustrate, one longitudinal study examined the correlation of IQ in teenagers and their subsequent career choices and occupational success. The results showed that some people with higher IQs were actually less successful in life than their “less intelligent” counterparts. So if your IQ score is low, do not despair, many other factors play a role in life accomplishments and achievements.

A question that is nearly always pondered by psychologists is gender differences. Simply put, men and women are similar in intelligence. The only difference between male and female brains is that the male brain has more white matter, white matter is not responsible for cognitive processes, although it might speed up communication between neurons or brain cells.

However, men have greater spatial intelligence, whereas women score higher on verbal intelligence. In today’s world, men still outperform women in subjects such as hard sciences. Nonetheless, psychologists suggest that this may be due to the fact that from a young age boys are geared towards science.