It can be awkward to talk about intelligence because it spotlights the fact some people aren’t very smart. And we all hope we aren’t one of them. And if geniuses are off being rich and successful, where does that leave the average- or simple-minded? Perhaps these anxieties are why there are many myths about intelligence floating around. However, no matter a person’s IQ, understanding the science behind intelligence may help them better understand themselves and optimize the skills they have.
Myth 1: It’s impossible to define intelligence
Many experts disagree with this myth and cite the idea of general intelligence. In short terms, general intelligence is typically defined as being a type of cognition that helps people function in all areas of life. This can include broad abilities like verbal expression, abstract reasoning, and processing speed.
Psychologist Linda Gottfredson explains it best: “Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. It is not merely book-learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings, ‘catching on’, ‘making sense’ of things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do.”
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Myth 2: There are multiple types of intelligence
The myth of multiple intelligences is based on a theory by Howard Gardner in the 1980s. He lists 7 to 9 types of intelligence such as logical-mathematical, interpersonal, naturalistic, etc. However, critics of the theory say there is no empirical evidence behind it. Psychologist and researcher Stuart Ritchie believes that while the idea of different types of intelligence is true to an extent, they all correlate with each other. In other words, general intelligence is multi-faceted but also interconnected.
Myth 3: You can’t measure intelligence
Since intelligence is general, it can be easy to measure, according to educational psychologist and researcher Russel T. Warne. This is because any task requiring some form of cognitive effort can reflect the doer’s intelligence. This goes beyond academic tests. They can include logical problems, short-term memory tasks, completing patterns, and other problems. While they may seem clinical on paper, these sorts of cognitively-challenging situations appear every day.
Myth 4: High IQ scorers are socially awkward
There’s a pervasive stereotype of the “awkward nerd”. The myth says the higher the intelligence, the worse the social skills. However, long-term studies show that children with high intelligence and those with average intelligence have similar emotional and social developments.
Myth 5: Men are smarter than women
Actually, research indicates that there are no significant differences in the average IQ of men and women. In his book “Intelligence: All That Matters,” Ritchie points out reasons for this myth. “The first is that there are differences in more specific abilities: women tend to do better than men on verbal measures, and men tend to outperform women on tests of spatial ability,” reads his snippet on Aporia. “The second is that there is a difference in variability: males tend to be over-represented at the very high and the very low levels of intelligence.”
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Myth 6: Anyone can become highly intelligent
Are geniuses born or made? Professor Markus Bühner, Chair of Psychological Methodology and Diagnostics at LMU, believes it’s both. “The evidence clearly shows that intelligence is in part inborn,” he says on LMU’s newsroom. “Whether the fraction is closer to 50% or 70% seems irrelevant to me.” However, he adds that people can still enhance their cognitive abilities. “Even highly intelligent people need to put in some form of effort to learn and comprehend. The fact that intelligence is partly genetically determined is no excuse for shrugging one’s shoulders. It should instead motivate us to build on what we have.”
Myth 7: You can study for an IQ test
Overall, researchers agree that practicing for an IQ test has little impact on the results. “It is of course helpful to be familiar with the test situation as such and the types of tasks that may be expected,” says Bühner. But practice won’t significantly improve one’s score.
Myth 8: Emotional intelligence is separate from IQ
Ritchie dismisses the idea of emotional intelligence as a concept. However, he admits that emotional intelligence has been proven to correlate life success. “But to a large extent, this is just because emotional intelligence is a re-description of a combination of IQ and personality; that is, a re-description of psychological traits that we already knew about,” Ritchie says to Vox. He adds that people with high IQ tend to also have high levels of emotional intelligence. “In general, I’m not sure how useful it is just to relabel stuff we already know…”
Myth 9: You need a high IQ to be successful
Most people have an IQ between 115 and 85, and that doesn’t mean they won’t succeed in life. It’s important to remember that it’s almost impossible for a person to properly determine their intelligence or the intelligence of the people around them. “The quality that distinguishes the highly gifted from the rest of us is the ability to think fast and logically,” says Bühner. “But each of us has certain personality traits and habits, which have a significant impact on who we are.” He points to an example of a person raised in a relaxed environment who speaks slowly instead of rapidly. Their high IQ doesn’t determine how they’ll present themselves to others. “After all, intelligence isn’t everything,” he concluded.
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