Does our verbal IQ go up as we get older?

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I imagine that it would be for some.

Taking the WISC (and similar) into account, the Verbal test part includes:

- arithmetic (you must know basics and some intermediate maths as taught in school)
- explaining words (so you must have acquired a wide vocabulary, usually in school)
- answering questions about general knowledge (self-explanatory, school ought to teach that partly)
- explaining how everyday things/theories are/work (everything they asked was taught to me in school once)

(can't remember the rest right now)

A child that has entered school and has developed and grown up in an environment according to the average would be able to answer questions age-appropriately. By growing older, they acquire more knowledge and will be able to answer more questions that are required to hold up their IQ score.

If somebody has average potential but parents/teachers/caretakers took little time to talk to the child, teach it, inform it, explain and answer questions, it will very likely score miserable in the verbal test part.

But not just environmental factors can influence the Verbal score, but also developmental factors, such as being non-verbal and/or having trouble with expressive/receptive language.

I read about parents saying that their child picked up on words suddenly and learned to speak some and scored 20 more on an IQ test compared to the IQ test not even 1 year ago.

So I guess the question would be: did you have trouble with expressive/receptive language as a child? But not so (much?) as of today?

(PIQ can differ too of course and got worse/better with the years by requiring motor skills, visual processing etc. for test parts)

Some say IQ is static, but I ALWAYS considered that a STUPID statement.

IQ CAN change! That should be obvious.

Now, if verbal IQ had ONLY to do with words, and you had VIQ of 80 when you were ten, lets say the average 10 year old knew 2000 words, and learned you 1000 words a year but the average person only learned 800, then, at 18:

10 2000 =100
10 1600 =80
18 8400 = 100
18 10000 = 119

BTW one site says:

Still, I have heard it has declined, and I have heard far lower numbers. I think the average American's vocabulary is really pretty low. Many here have spoken of rather simple words, that I would consider ESSENTIAL, being called "big words" by others.

Sounds like just that could be it. What influenced your test score I mean. If a person just uses certain words to answer a question that the test(er) doesn't decide to be accurate enough, the person will receive less/no points. Even if they know it and just can't get it out correctly or if they discuss another detail than the tester expects them to discuss.



Yeah, I agree. Really, IQ and developmental delays are no good indicators for schoolbook, if you've progressed beyond teenage years I think. I sometimes think just plain experience comes in handy with age.

Last edited by Sora on 01 Jun 2008, 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm sure that my verbal IQ is somewhat higher than it used to be.

well yeah...10-22 is pretty much still developmental stage mentally. Only now, young padawan...

It depends. I married someone with a woefully bad vocabulary (maybe 3-5,000 words), and I spend a lot of time coming to grips with the ever-changing concepts of 'thing', there', and 'that...

That may not indicate a poor vocabulary so much as a problem with word retrieval or a processing overload. I have a fantastic vocabulary (when I was given a battery of tests at 19 my vocabulary score was literally off the charts for my age- they said I scored like a high-scoring 32 year old), but I often use general terms like "thing" because during the heat of a conversation, it can be hard to recall the word I want. That's not a problem I have when writing, just when speaking. It's a processing issue, not a vocabulary issue.

so that's why mines is so high my obbsession puzzles and strtegy games helped.

IQ is not static, I beliveve IQ depends on how you grew up who you inherted from, what you learn as you grow up and how well you use your brain.

My IQ I think was:

10 = 109 (School one this was really wrong)
12 = 112
13 = 124
14 = 139