There was an article a while back in a Lithuanian newspaper, which is not known for great accuracy, that someone had calculated that 75% of the world’s population had an IQ of 50-75. Now the archaic term for an IQ of 50-70 was ‘moron’, so these are pretty outrageous results, either proving the bias of the test, a miscalculation, or an error in the newspaper article. My friend refuses to beleive this.
So, my question is: is a person with an IQ of 50-70 considered competent? Checking the internet showed that 33 US States did not allow mental handicapped people to marry but it was not clear at what level of handicap (one stated an ‘idiot’, i.e. under 25). What is a person with an IQ of 50-75 able to do? Are they smart enough to usually finish a normal high school? What is their reading level?
Thanks for your help. Several hours of checking files and websites yielded very little to address this question.
Eh, no. Remember that 50% of everyone has an IQ above 100. That’s how it works: 100 is the dead center, and everyone is classed according to how far they deviate from that. Stating that 75% of everyone is below average is meaningless and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of basic principles.
I remember 100 is set as the average intelligence but is that relative or absolute? If relative, how do scores compare with those from, say, 50 years ago? Do they show a decline? I seem to remember reading that SAT scores are declining in this manner.
Actually, IQ scores have shown a steady increase ever since the testing was incepted. We’ve had to revise the scale upwards just to keep up (for example, someone who gets 100 on a modern test would get 120 on a test a few years old).
I don’t know how SAT scores are varying over time, but IQs are showing a definite upwards trend. Whatever that means.
It is possible that people are getting more intelligent, but even if they are, the “average” remains the same – 100 – by definition.
I don’t believe the change has been that drastic. About twenty years ago, the average I.Q. for people receiving their doctrates was 125. Anyone know what it is now?
Thanks for the info on IQ scores. That should definitely sink the authority of the article but could anyone help with the first part, i.e. describing the abilities, both mental and legal of a person with an IQ of 50-75. (You are still welcome to post on IQ matters, just trying to reexpress a seemingly forgotten aspect of my original question.
Okay, according to the Merck Manual, someone with an IQ of 52-68 is mildly retarded.
[ul]
[li]Preschool age (birth-5 years): Can develop social and communication skills; muscle coordination is slightly impaired; often not diagnosed until later age.[/li][li]School age (6-20 years): Can learn up to about the 6th-grade* level by late teens; can be guided towards social conformity; can be educated.[/li][li]Adult age (21 years and older): Can usually achieve enough social and vocational skills for self-support, but may need assistance during times of unusual social or economic states.[/li][/ul]*6th grade level is usually achieved by the age of 13.
So people with an IQ between 50-75 would be just below the cutoff for mildly retarded at one end and on the low end of normal intelligence on the other. They could learn, by and large, to fend for themselves in a non-crisis situation, including holding down a relatively simple job. I don’t know what the military’s cutoff IQ is.
With medical science, its becoming quite easy to live into your 90’s and above.
My question… should we start mandatory competancy testing for those who have drivers licenses? How can we make certain we weed out those who can no longer drive safely?
I’ve lost count of the number of old people I’ve been trapped behind, going 25mph in a 45 mph zone. They usually wander all over the road, and I can see their heads looking everywhere except straight forward.
It gets even worse in rain or light snow, they take up two lanes and drive so slow you’d swear they were checking for mines. I think rain frightens them.
There have been incidents in my town where old people have hit what they thought was the brake, only to discover they floored the accelerator. Such a thing happened in a supermarket parking lot and 3 children died. After that, mandatory testing began to become an issue.
Thank you for the Merck’s reference; mine doesn’t have it. Just checked and Dorland’s is shorter.
What is the legal aspect? Can these people enter into contracts without someone co-signing? Obviously opportunities would be limited due to their earning capacity bt it seems it would be fairly easily to cheat them out of whatever they do have. Are they required to have a guardian or a social worker assigned?
Here in Lithuania, one’s rights are restricted only if one is officially recognised as incompent by a psychiatrist/psychoologist. Then no driver’s licence, gun permit, or passport are issued nor is a person allowed to sign contracts. But I haven’t found what the intelligence requirements are for competency. From what I have heard so far, it is complex decision, not just based on an IQ test. Since 50-70 is classifiec as mildly mentally retarded, it appears to be something of a grey area to me so far.
I suppose due to their lack of scholastic ability, their situation would be diagnosed in school so they could be sent for appropriate training. Here, that record is available to the commission that issues licences, so there is no faking it.
Since they would also have coordination and emotional (social) problems according to the definitions (Merck’s and Dorland’s), perhaps that is why the decision is complex.