Does IQ not measure intelligence?

According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, the idea that intelligence can be measured with a single index - IQ is wrong.

The study - published in the recent Wednesday Neuron magazine - involved 100,000 participants worldwide who conducted 12 cognitive tests, with a few of them experiencing and scanning the brain. .

Lead researcher Dr Adrian Owen, a British neurologist at Western University in Canada, said most IQ tests were developed in the 1950s and '60s when the way people think and interact working with the world very differently today and therefore it is no longer appropriate. The traditional IQ test is too simple. Intelligence cannot be evaluated through such a simple test. Instead, the study identifies three factors - reasoning, instant memory and language ability - combined to create human intelligence. They built Cattell III B tests, which included six multiple-choice questions to test mental agility, with each section lasting 8 and 18 minutes.

Traditional IQ tests do not assess the level of intelligence

The test was promoted through New Scientist and Discovery.com magazines and quickly spread throughout the world, far beyond the expectations of researchers with the expectation of only a few thousand participants. In fact it has become the largest online research on intelligence, allowing them to collect data through demographic, age and gender paths.

In addition, scientists also conducted brain scans (fMRIs) on a number of subjects. Dr Owen said: "If there is something in the brain that is an IQ, we can find it by sweeping the brain. But it turns out there is no area in the brain that is related to that. is human IQ ".

The study also found some findings:

• While aging has a detrimental effect on reasoning ability and immediate memory, it does not affect language ability at all.

• Smoking has a negative impact on the ability of language and memory immediately but does not affect reasoning skills.

• Video game players have good ability in both reasoning and instant memory.

• Products advertised to improve brain function are not effective. Brain trainers are no better than any of the three elements of intelligence compared to those who do not train the brain

In order to continue further research on this issue, researchers have posted intelligence tests on cambridgebrainsciences.com/theIQchallenge and Dr. Owen hopes to have about 1 million people in the world participating in the lesson. this test.