Is the Intellectual Quotient the same as intelligence?
The concept of the intellectual quotient, also known by its abbreviation (CI), is used with great frequency as if it were equivalent to intelligence, or at least a definitive measure of this construct. However, IQ and intelligence are not synonymous nor should they be understood as such, despite the close relationship between both concepts.
In this article we will focus on answering a question: Is the IQ the same as the intelligence? For this we will show several definitions of these two terms and we will analyze the relationships and differences that exist between them.
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What is intelligence?
The term "intelligere" comes from Latin and can be translated as the ability to understand or perceive. During the middle ages the words "intellectus" and "intelligentia" began to be used in a similar way to the Christian concept of the soul.
There are many different conceptions of the "intelligence" construct. Although each of them highlights different aspects, most agree that it is a relatively stable aptitude that varies according to the individual and that is associated with problem solving and other cognitive functions of higher order, as well as with the adaptation to the environment.
The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy includes several relevant factors in its definition of intelligence: the ability to understand and know things (similar to the original Latin word), as well as to solve problems. In addition, one of the meanings describes intelligence as a skill derived from experience.
Albert Binet, creator of the first IQ test, equated intelligence with judgment or common sense. David Wechsler, author of the WAIS and WISC intelligence tests, said that it is a global capability that allows us to achieve goals, think rationally and face the environment . Charles Spearman, pioneer of psychometrics, also stressed this unitary character.
On the other hand, the author of the theory of multiple intelligences, Howard Gardner, defines intelligence as a set of differentiated abilities that allow us to solve the problems that arise throughout our lives and acquire new knowledge. We will discuss the perspective of Gardner and other critics of the IC concept later on.
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Defining the IQ (IQ)
IQ or IQ is the global score obtained in various instruments whose objective is to measure intelligence . Its origin is the concept of "mental age", which comes from the first scale of intelligence: the one developed by Binet and Simon to assess the special needs of children with learning difficulties.
The term "IQ" was coined by William Stern , a German psychologist expert in interindividual differences. This author developed the contributions of Binet and Simon: proposed dividing the mental age between the chronological to improve the ability to discriminate intelligence tests between people of the same age. The result was the IC.
Later Lewis Terman reviewed the Binet-Simon test adding the concept of IQ proposed by Stern. He also perfected the way of calculating it; by multiplying by 100 the result of the division of mental age between chronological fractions were avoided. On the other hand, Terman popularized the abbreviation "CI".
The Wechsler intelligence tests
At present, and since the appearance of the Wechsler intelligence tests in the 1950s, the IC is obtained by comparing the scores of a given subject in the test with those of other people of the same age. For this, normal scores are used with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
Following this distribution, two thirds of the population have an IC that can be considered normal, that is, between 85 and 115 approximately. The scores between 75 and 90 denote, according to Wechsler, a limit intelligence, while those between 115 and 130 are slightly high.
The Wechsler tests also stand out because they not only include the total IQ, but also several subfactors. The two main ones are the verbal IQ and the manipulative IQ ; the first is measured with evidence of acquired knowledge and verbal comprehension, and the manipulative IQ has to do with fluid reasoning and information processing.
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The relationship between CI and intelligence
Currently IC is often used in the evaluation of different types of people, such as students or applicants to a certain job. In this sense, it is usually used based on the predictive ability of fluid intelligence in academic and professional performance .
The most intense correlation at the psychosocial level is that between IC and grades during basic education; it is estimated that its value is approximately 0.50. The ability of the IC to predict job performance varies according to employment but tends to be lower than academic, probably because its effect is mediated by education.
On the other hand, A very common criticism of IQ tests is ethnocentrism : it is argued that they favor those who have been raised in certain environments (for example in Europe or Japan) to the detriment of intellectual aptitudes that are more appreciated in others. Intelligence is a very broad concept, and it is difficult to avoid reductionism by operationalizing it.
Many authors, such as Sternberg and Gardner, have opposed the unitary conception of intelligence that derives from the widespread use of IQ tests. From these perspectives an expansion of the concept "intelligence" that includes capacities related to interpersonal relationships, motor skills, creativity or the knowledge of oneself.
Lev Vygotsky, a key theorist in the psychology of education, emphasized the dynamic nature of intellectual skills, giving rise to a series of interventions that evaluate progress in measures similar to those of IQ repeatedly as the corresponding capacities are trained . This contrasts with the idea of intelligence as a stable factor.
It is convenient to understand the IQ as a fragmentary measure of intelligence which focuses on some domains, such as language or spatial reasoning, while leaving aside others also relevant to everyday life. Also, it is important to keep in mind that intelligence can be more modifiable than we think.
