It’s a common misconception that those with higher IQs (intelligence quotients) will succeed more. Success is typically linked to intelligence – Steve Jobs of Apple or Jay Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” are living pieces of evidence. There are actually two standpoints on this: the first holds that having a high IQ is essential for success in whatever profession, while the second emphasizes other criteria as being more important. Research indicates that success in the fields of creation, sciences, or finances isn’t always correlated with a high IQ. This article examines various other elements that may influence life outcomes, in addition to the possibility that those with high IQs may have an advantage in terms of achievement.
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What IQ Tests Measure and What Limits They Have
The original purpose of IQ tests was to identify students who required additional academic support. That intention shifted with time. The examinations evolved into a tool for identifying individuals with IQs above average. Over the past century, significant scientific advancements have been made to modern IQ tests. They measure a wide range of cognitive processes, including knowledge, language, immediate and long-term memory, arithmetic, reasoning, and spatial processing, all with remarkable precision. They represent a substantial advancement in psychological testing. The average IQ score on a standardized test is 100. An IQ of 140 or more is regarded as high or genius-level. A little over 2% of people have a score of 130 or higher.
It’s critical to keep in mind that IQ tests have biases and limits. Although there’s disagreement among professionals regarding the accepted definition of intelligence, IQ tests only assess a limited set of mental skills. While there’s a chance that some tests have greater reliability than others, IQ levels could fluctuate over time. A wide range of factors, such as dietary habits, cultural norms, educational opportunities, and general health can influence IQ test results.
Scores can also be impacted by the design and scoring of tests. Numerous IQ tests appear to be biased against particular groups of people, according to some studies as well. Other qualities, such as emotional comprehension and interpersonal skills – which are important if you opted for a career in finance – that contribute to intelligence are frequently overlooked by testing.
Studies on High IQ Individuals and Their Chances of Success in the Workplace
Have you ever heard of the “Terman Study of the Gifted”? Neither did we before we started to dig deep on the Internet for correlations between high IQ and career/life success.
When IQ testing was first developed, scientists looked at whether getting better scores on tests was associated with anything other than academic success. Lewis Terman, an American psychologist, started looking into the social and emotional growth of children with high IQs in the early 1920s. He selected 1,500 kids with an average IQ of 150 who were in California between the ages of eight and 12. Eighty of these had a score higher than 170.
Terman followed the kids for several years, discovering that the majority of them were both physically and socially well-adjusted. In addition to their scholastic achievements, these kids also tended to be taller, stronger, healthier, and less prone to accidents when compared to a similar group of kids with average IQs.
What was the outcome of Terman’s initial participants? After 35 years of research, Terman examined the group as a whole and reported:
- The average income of the subjects was $33,000 in 1955, while the average income for the country was $5,000.
- Of them, two-thirds held college degrees.
- Many have continued to get professional and post-graduate degrees.
- Many of these went on to become scientists, physicians, attorneys, and business executives.
- Over 50 percent of them joined college and university faculties.
Nevertheless, Terman pointed out that the majority chose less glamorous careers like those of police officers, sailors, typists, and filing clerks. In the end, he came to the conclusion that achievement and IQ weren’t exactly associated.
The study was continued by other psychologists following Terman’s death in 1956. The longest-running longitudinal research in history is this one, and it’s still ongoing today. Therefore, even while IQ can contribute to success in life, personality attributes are still what ultimately determine achievement, according to experts who continued Terman’s work after his death.
This conclusion is supported by a 2016 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) by four co-authors, who point out that because achievement tests and grades are more accurate indicators of personality traits that are linked to success, they are generally better predictors of life outcomes than IQ tests.
The Ways IQ Can Impact Your Professional Existence
The concept of IQ describes and measures our capacity for rational thought when it comes to expanding our comprehension of the world around us. It supports us in developing opinions and providing logical justifications for them, both of which are critical to moving our efforts toward progress. You can’t make the correct kind of effort to improve yourself if your cognitive process is not reasonable and rational. It would negatively affect both your professional development and image.
Here are four ways your IQ might impact your life at work, which will help you grasp the significance of IQ even more.
# 1 Your Low IQ Hinders You from Gaining Insightful Knowledge at Work
All the information you need to form an opinion about events happening around you is your IQ.
The development of perceptive knowledge requires logical analysis and reasonable observation of the subject matter. It’s impossible to measure a person’s level of rationality and logic in mental processes without knowing their IQ. You risk becoming lost in your thoughts when considering a certain problem or occurrence if you aren’t logical or rational. It could make it harder for you to understand the stuff. Therefore, having a low IQ can incorrectly lead you and negatively impact your comprehension at work as a whole.
# 2 Having a Low IQ Can Make It Harder for You to Solve Problems at Work
A person lacking in reason or logic is unable to identify and highlight the critical elements associated with certain workplace concerns or problems. And all it takes to solve an issue and work toward improvement is to be aware of the elements that need to be changed or addressed.
However, if you lack the requisite level of IQ or aren’t rational or logical, you may not even be able to recognize and consider the significant aspects associated with a given problem, which could lead to an inability to take the necessary actions to solve the problem or enhance your performance at work. It would harm your ability to solve problems, which could result in depression and failure at work.
# 3 Low IQ Impacts How You Show Yourself at Work
Everyone needs to communicate in order to go through critical tasks in their lives, whether they are professionals working for a corporate organization or students needing to discuss crucial concepts with peers. And nobody can live without the ability to communicate effectively.
Although the spoken words in a discussion serve as the framework for our presentation, reasoning, and logic give it life. Should there be no reason or reasonable thought in the discussion, your presentation may become lifeless or ineffective. You also need to have a high IQ to do it. You won’t be able to successfully market yourself without it.
# 4 Low IQ Will Damage Your Reputation as a Professional at Work
Everything revolves around the image. In terms of an individual’s development and achievement, it’s crucial.
One must perform well at work in order to have a positive professional image. Without the capacity to comprehend and solve issues while delivering a presentation in the most effective manner, it’s nearly impossible. Thus, in order to enhance your life at work, you need to possess these attributes or the necessary IQ.
8 Characteristics That Are Probably More Crucial for Professional Success Than IQ
You’re instilled with the belief that intelligence correlates with success from an early age. First of all, during your time in school, you’re taught to prepare for successive tests with the idea that the more intelligent you are, the higher your marks will be. This isn’t always the case, though, as we already pointed out.
While it’s accurate that your IQ might exert a significant influence on your career success – after all, IQ scores of numerous celebrities shown at https://iqinternational.org/insights/celebrities pose as good examples of a positive correlation between having high IQ and excelling in their professions – other elements, such as your capacity to converse effectively, also play a significant role. Therefore, IQ isn’t the only factor that determines success in the workplace. Employers actively seek people with high emotional quotients (EQs), which means that emotional intelligence may be equally as significant as intellectual intelligence, if not more so.
So don’t worry if you’re not a born genius—here are eight qualities that are more valuable than IQ and could help you succeed in the workplace:
- Having self-control
You can react to unpleasant situations rationally rather than letting your emotions take over if you have a certain amount of self-awareness and emotional control. It’s crucial to have the ability to reason before acting.
- Mindset oriented to growth
When it comes to developing your profession, having confidence in yourself and being open to new chances is a great attitude to have. Failures should be viewed as opportunities for growth and progress.
- Sturdiness
It’s critical to understand how to acknowledge when something goes wrong and adjust, rather than giving up, in order to grow from mistakes or setbacks and advance.
- Devotion
The added drive to do well that comes from pursuing your passion will surpass what education can supply on its own.
- Compassion
It will be much simpler to build relationships and collaborate with others in a team if you can place yourself in their position and comprehend their viewpoints.
- Being diligent
Tasks will be completed effectively if you can remain focused, plan ahead, and keep organized.
- Receptivity to new experiences
It will show much more on you if you’re willing to attempt new things and pick up new talents than if you are hesitant to extend your horizons.
- Skills in socializing
One of the most crucial aspects of achieving professional success is networking and teamwork. People who are affable and skilled communicators are preferred to work with.
Final Word
Although intelligence, or more precisely an IQ test, can indicate a person’s likelihood of success, it can’t ensure success. IQ tests by themselves can’t assess the abilities, characteristics, and support needed to realize that potential. Although knowing more about your cognitive talents can be gleaned from your IQ test results, it’s important to keep in mind that these assessments have a lot of limits. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that while IQ can predict academic performance, other life outcomes, career in your line of work, aren’t always correlated with it.
On the other hand, you also need to have a clear grasp of the issues you confront at work and, of course, solutions for them. However, one can’t think correctly without the necessary IQ level, which could have an impact on your career at work. But you may raise your IQ and have a better working life by learning to think rationally, communicate effectively, and solve problems.
2018 ·
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