Why a High IQ Doesn't Guarantee Success in Life: 5 Reasons
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 6:35 am
Employers often test applicants' intellectual abilities, especially when hiring for high-level and responsible positions. Until recently, the most popular filter for professional suitability was a successfully passed IQ test. Why are employers now abandoning this test, what's wrong with it, and what qualities important for work does it not show?
The article will be useful for executives, managers and HR specialists who want to improve the efficiency of their team. And also for everyone who wants to better understand their abilities and methods of their assessment.
IQ testing has been around since the early 20th century. In 1904, British uae whatsapp list psychologist Charles Spearman noticed that different cognitive abilities were closely related. For example, if you have a good memory, you’re likely to be good at logic, too. Spearman proposed the existence of a “general intelligence” that could be measured, and called this measurable metric the general intelligence quotient, or g factor.
Later, building on Spearman's theory, psychologists began to develop methods for measuring g and the relationship between it and physiological variables: brain size, race, gender, age, and social influence.
Intelligence quotient, the definition of which is one such attempt, made in 1912 by German scientist Wilhelm Stern, became the basis for modern IQ tests. Here is the formula he proposed:
IQ formula
Mental age was calculated by comparing the development level of a specific person with the development level of people of the same age. Just like modern IQ tests do, the most famous of which is the Eysenck test. It was used to assess the intelligence of people from 18 to 60 years old with a secondary education and above. The fashion for IQ tests came in the 1950s-1970s. But the more often they were used, the more criticism and doubts about their real usefulness they caused.
Let's look into the reasons.
Reason 1. Focus on logic and analytics
The IQ test focuses on certain types of cognitive abilities, mainly related to logical thinking and analytical skills. That is, other important aspects of intelligence - creative thinking, social skills and the ability to adapt to new conditions - are not taken into account. This limitation does not allow IQ to be considered a synonym for intelligence, intelligence and especially talent. All these are multifaceted concepts that include much more than one specific coefficient.
American professor Howard Gardner identifies seven components of intelligence : linguistic, logical (mathematical), spatial, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal and emotional. IQ tests, in his opinion, can only say something about one component - logical-mathematical.
Reason 2. No guarantees
Just a few years ago, IQ tests were often used in candidate selection, believing that a high IQ was the key to high productivity. Now HR specialists are more inclined to believe that this is not enough. They have begun to pay more attention to communication skills, the ability to work in a team, and adaptability.
The article will be useful for executives, managers and HR specialists who want to improve the efficiency of their team. And also for everyone who wants to better understand their abilities and methods of their assessment.
IQ testing has been around since the early 20th century. In 1904, British uae whatsapp list psychologist Charles Spearman noticed that different cognitive abilities were closely related. For example, if you have a good memory, you’re likely to be good at logic, too. Spearman proposed the existence of a “general intelligence” that could be measured, and called this measurable metric the general intelligence quotient, or g factor.
Later, building on Spearman's theory, psychologists began to develop methods for measuring g and the relationship between it and physiological variables: brain size, race, gender, age, and social influence.
Intelligence quotient, the definition of which is one such attempt, made in 1912 by German scientist Wilhelm Stern, became the basis for modern IQ tests. Here is the formula he proposed:
IQ formula
Mental age was calculated by comparing the development level of a specific person with the development level of people of the same age. Just like modern IQ tests do, the most famous of which is the Eysenck test. It was used to assess the intelligence of people from 18 to 60 years old with a secondary education and above. The fashion for IQ tests came in the 1950s-1970s. But the more often they were used, the more criticism and doubts about their real usefulness they caused.
Let's look into the reasons.
Reason 1. Focus on logic and analytics
The IQ test focuses on certain types of cognitive abilities, mainly related to logical thinking and analytical skills. That is, other important aspects of intelligence - creative thinking, social skills and the ability to adapt to new conditions - are not taken into account. This limitation does not allow IQ to be considered a synonym for intelligence, intelligence and especially talent. All these are multifaceted concepts that include much more than one specific coefficient.
American professor Howard Gardner identifies seven components of intelligence : linguistic, logical (mathematical), spatial, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal and emotional. IQ tests, in his opinion, can only say something about one component - logical-mathematical.
Reason 2. No guarantees
Just a few years ago, IQ tests were often used in candidate selection, believing that a high IQ was the key to high productivity. Now HR specialists are more inclined to believe that this is not enough. They have begun to pay more attention to communication skills, the ability to work in a team, and adaptability.