This is one of the most interesting posts I’ve seen in a long time. I guessed C, thinking that it was some question that only dummies would get wrong. I figured that Anne’s status hadn’t been named, so it couldn’t be determined.
That’s an example of what Dr. Stanovich calls being a “cognitive miser”. Disjunctive reasoning (thinking through all possibilities) is unnatural, and just because you CAN do it doesn’t mean you do it by default. When the choice (C) is removed from the list of answers, for example, most people get it right. But when (C) seems overwhelmingly the “obvious” answer, AND is given as one of the possible expected answers, it becomes very natural and tempting to simply go with that answer and move on, conserving brain power for something more problematic.
Cognitive miser, right. So does that mean I don’t have to feel stupid?
So which one only goes up to 150?
This is a good example why you should always, ALWAYS draw a little diagram, no matter how simple, on these sorts of questions when doing any kind of test, a la the (Jack) => (Anne) => (George) above. It really helps one to see “the big picture” and maybe pick up on something you would otherwise miss. Always helped me on things like the GRE.
I took the WAIS-R in college, when I was 20.
Verbal IQ = 113
Full Scale = 104
Performance IQ = 90
I was being tested for ADHD at the time. I wonder if my scores would be any different now that I’m on medication. I’d like to think they would be higher considering how dramatic of a difference Adderall has made in my life … but it could be I’m just an average bear.
I was tested, but never told what the result was. When I asked, those in the know acted as if it were a state secret or something. I think they just didn’t want to bother looking it up.
I’ve taken several tests that claim to evaluate your IQ. For what it’s worth, I always came up within a point or two of 135.
I’ve been told that genius level is 140. So I’ve always thought of myself as “Five Points Under”. If I ever get adopted into an Indian tribe, that will be my official name.
Actually, I believe that 145, or 3 standard deviations above the mean is considered genius level, 10 Points Under.
What IQ does a zombie have?
Seriously? I’m commenting on my own thread 2 1/2 years later? Goodness
Cool!
I was tested three times in school (once in elementary, once in junior high school, once in high school). The first two times, I didn’t even realize it was an IQ test. The third time, I was pissed that they wouldn’t give me the results.
Interestingly, I found out the results of all three from my file at a college admissions office, and they were all within one point (two were identical, the third was a point lower). I took a self-proctored Mensa practice exam in college and got the same result.
That seems odd to me. I wouldn’t expect that kind of consistency on the tests. I’d expect a ten-point variation depending on what mood I’m in or how much sleep I got the night before. Is this unusual?
Are there any reliable (free) online ones?
Well, these results explain why I always feel so dumb here.
Or because this forum is full of liars.
In a random sample, the peak of the curve should be right around 100.
This thread was obnoxious and people here are full of shit.
This isn’t a random sample; it’s a self-selecting sample which probably does have a slightly-higher-than-overall-median IQ.
Not this much higher, though.
I was tested when I was in second grade, and scored at 148.
They asked me if I wanted to skip a grade or two, but I chickened
out. School was never a problem, except for Geometry and Chemistry;
I got B’s and C’s in those subjects.
I noticed some cognitive decline in my mid-twenties, while I was in
graduate school. I probably should have had myself checked out,
but never did.
Now I’m 50, and that may be my IQ, too, I’m afraid…
The lowest end of that curve isn’t likely to be hanging around the Internet looking for polls called “What is your IQ?”
And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some answers that weren’t 100% accurate
No. IQ tests need to be administered by someone with psychometric training to have any validity at all.
There are group aptitude tests, such as the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), that provide a reasonable index of intelligence, but the most valid assessments are ones given individually by a qualifed examiner, as you point out.
Some schools used to give group IQ tests, such as the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, which I’m guesing some of the posters here remember taking.
Test in university during a psych experiment. 145.