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Scientists: IQ tests are misleading
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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In 1904, English psychologist Charles Spearman, the father of IQ tests, discovered that the results of solving a whole range of different types of problems can measure a person’s mental abilities. This was still believed until researchers Adam Hampshire, Adrian Owen and Roger Highfield questioned the validity of determining a person’s intelligence quotient using IQ tests.
Canadian scientists have asked themselves to what extent IQ tests reflect the level of intelligence in reality and whether their results can be used for various types of research.
According to scientists from Western University, Canada, IQ tests are useless for determining the level of a person's intellectual abilities and here's why.
More than one hundred thousand people from all over the world took part in the experiment. In November 2010, a website called "12 Pillars of Wisdom" was launched, where anyone could take 12 tests aimed at assessing various human cognitive abilities. An assessment was made of a person's short-term memory, ability to build logical chains, level of attentiveness, and so on. In addition to online research, specialists tested 16 volunteers in laboratory conditions, using computer resonance tomography, which recorded the activity of various areas of the brain while the volunteers were taking intelligence tests.
As a result, experts came to the conclusion that human intelligence depends on at least three components: the ability to think logically, short-term memory, and the verbal component.
According to one of the study's authors, Dr. Adrian Owen, the team of specialists was able to identify different patterns of activity in the brain responsible for solving a particular task, so it is impossible to explain everything with just one indicator.
At least two independent neuron chains are responsible for solving different types of tasks. Therefore, based on the results obtained, experts claim that there is a whole set of human thinking abilities and it is impossible to determine the level of human intellectual abilities one-sidedly.
"We did not expect that so many people would take part in our experiment," the researchers said. "Thanks to the CT scans and the participation of so many people, we came to the conclusion that intelligence is manifested due to the capabilities of different cognitive systems, each of which has its own properties and capabilities."
Experts say that using IQ tests in psychological research will not give reliable results, and attempts to measure intelligence with their help will show incorrect data.
“It is interesting that people who play computer games cope better with tasks involving logical thinking and short-term memory, while smokers find it difficult to solve short-term memory tasks, and the same can be said about anxious and nervous people,” the researchers comment.
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