The ability to reason, understand, solve problems, gather information, be creative, think critically, and gain knowledge both from learning and experience, is called intelligence.
Intelligence might be defined in many different ways, but in general, it is a combination of different cognitive skills of an individual. Science has discovered that animals and even plants possess some kind of intelligence.
Long time ago people realized that not all of them are the same and have the same abilities.
Some of them were more skillful and had an ability to resolve problems and deal with issues much faster than others. The desire for measuring the level of a person’s intelligence was first accomplished by a French psychologist, Alfred Binet, who created the first IQ test with the aid of his assistant Theodore Simon in the beginning of the 20th century.
The aim of every intelligence test is to measure the level of the person’s intelligence. There are various types of intelligence and in time different intelligence tests were created to measure these types of intelligence.
Although there are many different tests, they are mostly used to measure the person’s general intelligence, such as their cognitive skills and knowledge. They combine different cognitive tasks of perceptual, verbal, quantitative, or conceptual nature.
Intelligence tests or IQ tests are mostly used to measure the mental age of children by comparing it to the average mental age of children who are the same age.
Psychologists determine the child’s IQ, or intelligence quotient through intelligence tests and compare it with the average. Psychologists also use intelligence tests designed to measure the abilities and qualifications of potential candidates during recruitment processes.
The tests in these situations are created to measure their skills and ability to perform a certain job.
IQ tests are equipped with scales which are the base for determining the level of intelligence of the person performing the test.
It is important to say that the scores aren’t 100% accurate especially because of the various reasons (mostly of psychological nature) which can be present during the solving of the test.
There is always a possibility that the person who is being tested is nervous, disturbed, under stress, fears the results, is tired, etc. If that is the case, their results cannot be precise which is why intelligence tests have a tolerance of up to 10 or 20 points.
There are several intelligence scores scales. Most people are in the range of 90 to 109 IQ which in general is considered average intelligence. Results which are above IQ 109 are above average, and those below IQ 90 are considered below average.
Because intelligence isn’t something that is permanent, it is possible to raise its level for up to 20 points, through organized effort, different activities, and most of all, through education.
Types of intelligence
General intelligence is the most commonly tested type of intelligence and most intelligence test measure this type of intelligence. General intelligence represents the ability of a person to gain knowledge, think abstract, think critically, adapt to situations, gain knowledge from experiences. People with higher general intelligence are faster learners than people with lower general intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is the person’s ability to solve problems, or finding new ways to deal with issues or do things. This type of intelligence tends to decrease with age.
Crystalized intelligence is the intelligence gained through experience. This type of intelligence generally tends to increase with age.
Emotional intelligence is an ability of a person to understand others and their emotions, motivations, and desires.
Creative intelligence is the ability to think and act in a creative way. It is also the ability of finding creative ways of doing things. Creative people have the ability to visualize the outcome of their creativity.
Practical intelligence is like general intelligence and represents the ability of solving problems and dealing with arising issues without much thinking.
Specific intelligences are abilities and skills of individuals in different areas.
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
Intelligence level of a person is expressed in intelligence quotients or IQ-s. IQ-s are determined through intelligence tests, mostly tests which measure general intelligence.
Intelligence tests are made for various age groups by standardization. That is done by determining the average intelligence or IQ for all age groups.
Because intelligence has a tendency to increase with every new generation, these tests should regularly be updated.
The formula to calculate IQ is: IQ = mental age ÷ chronological age x 100. The formula is based on comparing the chronological age of a person with their mental age.
If a child who is six years old does an IQ test for children of that age as well as the average six year old child, that child has an average IQ of 100 (6 ÷ 6 x 100 = 100). If that child does an IQ test for an eight year old child as good as an average eight year old child, that child has an above average IQ of 133 (8 ÷ 6 x 100 = 133).
Genetic has significant influence on the level of person’s intelligence. Children inherit their intelligence from their ancestors. Parents and children have similar IQ.
Besides genetics, intelligence is also influenced by the person’s environment, their upbringing, care, living conditions, education, etc.
It is a fact that children raised in poor conditions and lack education are less intelligent than those children who are raised in good living conditions, educated and nurtured.
Possible causes of a bad IQ score
Because of various circumstances IQ scores cannot always be accurate. The person doing the test could be tired, confused, emotionally disturbed, anxious, fearing the results of the test, or be in some other disturbing physical or mental state.
Because such conditions usually prevent the person to concentrate and focus on their activities, it is unlikely that the IQ scores will be correct.
Also, learning disabilities are often the reasons for incorrect IQ scores, and they should be ruled out if someone scores badly on an IQ test and there are no obvious reasons for that.
These are the reasons why intelligence tests have standard deviation factors of up to 20 points.
Another thing important to mention is the fact that solving different intelligence tests is likely to give different results.
IQ 98 score meaning
IQ 98 is an average intelligence score. Average intelligence is the category in which most of human population belongs.
If you have an IQ score of 98, it means that you are like most people when it comes to intellect. This is a very common IQ and you should not be disturbed about it.
What is important to remember is the fact that intelligence level can be raised, and if you are not satisfied with yours you can always put in the effort to increase it.
The thought of being able to raise your intelligence is very comforting. If you did an IQ test and you scored 98 and that bothers you, you should check first whether the score is accurate.
You can do different IQ tests and compare the scores. Most likely they will differ, but if they confirm this score, there is a variety of activities you can do to raise it. You should work on improving your visual skills, spatial skills, knowledge in some areas such as math and science, your general knowledge, expanding your vocabulary, and so on.
We will give you some basic suggestions about possible activities, which shouldn’t stop you from doing the research and finding some intelligence raising activities yourself. You should discover what suits you best.
Reading is considered one of the essential activities to increase a person’s intelligence. It has multiple roles, especially when it comes to increasing the person’s knowledge and expanding their vocabulary.
Reading is also good for developing our concentration, focus, and keeps our brain working and occupied. It also trains our patience and determination.
You need that if you want to get through to the end of a book or some other material you are reading.
So, if you are a person who doesn’t like to read, it is a trait you should consider changing, because it is the fastest way to get results when it comes to raising your intelligence level.
Eat properly. It might sound strange how this activity could help because we all eat and we do it regularly to stay alive. Regardless of how it seems, eating properly is a very serious activity. If you don’t have regular eating habits and you tend to eat unhealthy food, there won’t be any results in improving your intelligence. In fact, you could even decrease its level.
The fact is that our body and especially our brain need proper nutrients to function and develop, which it cannot get from “junk” food.
Also, irregular eating habits stress the body and the brain because they never know when food is coming.
For that reason, you should try to establish some healthy eating habits and both eating regularly and eating healthy food. Especially is important to eat food which is good for the brain, such as nuts, green vegetables, etc.
Exercising is important to keep our bodies in shape, but it also helps our brain functioning and developing.
Drink water. Many people don’t realize the importance of drinking water. Our body and especially our brain need to stay hydrated to be able to function and stay healthy. That is why you should try to drink enough water daily.
Our body and brain need activity to stay in shape, but they also need resting to recuperate and regenerate its strength.
If you keep exhausting yourself, especially your brain without giving it enough time to rest, it is likely that it won’t be able to perform adequately.