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andantespianato
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11 Apr 2009, 8:10 pm

I have done a good number of online IQ tests but I have never done a formal supervised IQ test. I know I dont consider them a completely accurate measure of intelligence and I know online tests have even more limited validity, but I have a question about them anyway. I usually score between 135 and 147 on the various 'regular' online iq tests but I only score about 100 on culture fair/nonverbal online iq tests that are said to be done similar to ravens progressive matrices.
Should I be reading into that, the fact that I do so much worse on the culture fair ones?



Xelebes
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11 Apr 2009, 8:15 pm

You can't really read much into IQ tests unless you actually decide to study them a bit more and focus on how they work. Really, you shouldn't be reading more into the numbers until someone else tests you on this.


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11 Apr 2009, 8:17 pm

I do much better on online IQ tests too. I think my actual IQ is 95-100. Online I can get as high as 130.
I don't think any online IQ test is fair, because my actual IQ test was supposed to take 3-4 hours. Online they give you 15-30 minutes before they start deducting points from your score. I did my IQ test in 2 1/2 hours.



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11 Apr 2009, 8:17 pm

A properly done IQ test can be very accurate, but if you have issues like a legitimate learning disability, they have non-traditional tests that work well on people who have issues. I forget the details, but a typical IQ test will ask standard school questions and rate you on how much you know based on your age and education (that's all IQ is about...which is why many genius kids can grow up to only be above average).

The alternative tests use timed exams that ask you to perform tasks not tied to "education" but rather "mental function."

A good test provider knows how to apply IQ testing to the person needing to be tested. The failure to do so is what creates a lot of the problems in IQ results.

Put no real faith in any online test.



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11 Apr 2009, 8:24 pm

Quote:
A properly done IQ test can be very accurate
It doesn't measure anything other than your ability to do IQ tests, though.


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11 Apr 2009, 8:47 pm

I don't have proof, but I think online IQ tests come up with much higher results than the kind you get from a psychologist. In my case, I tested 16 points higher online!

I think the websites that feature quizzes try to flatter you with a high IQ result, so that you will be interested in taking more of their tests. The psychologist's test will be far more legitimate, though you might not like the result as much!


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Callista
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11 Apr 2009, 10:18 pm

I got a higher score on the real life test, actually. Doesn't always hold true. I was much more motivated for the RL one, though, because the online ones are really just fun little logic puzzles and not much more.


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11 Apr 2009, 11:04 pm

I got higher by a decent margin in RL than on any internet one (not that drastic though, like 15-20 points out)



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11 Apr 2009, 11:18 pm

Of course you perform better on online tests as opposed to manually administered tests. On the computer there is no moderator and no control.

Since these on-line IQ tests are profit based, they want you to keep coming back to their site and purchase whatever products they are hawking. So they curve up your score to something close to gifted to get you excited. Then you buy their little study handbook.



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11 Apr 2009, 11:25 pm

Uh, actually, me and happypuff just said our scores were lower online.


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11 Apr 2009, 11:31 pm

I normally score about an 80-90 on an online IQ test. My actual IQ is 158, so I'm suspicious of their validity. :P But really, it's just like the SATs, all it measures is test taking ability. It's just a number, I'm sure there are many people with official IQs lower than mine who are much more intelligent and well-read than me.



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11 Apr 2009, 11:59 pm

I get about 165-170 on the online IQ tests, but I was told (at about 13) my IQ was probably 145-155 or something, (thats what the quack said)



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12 Apr 2009, 3:07 am

It seems that these online IQ tests inflate scores... seems like everyone scores at least 120 or so... something to inflate people's ego's I suppose.



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12 Apr 2009, 12:42 pm

I got like 80 on the last online IQ test I did... Meh.



zer0netgain
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12 Apr 2009, 5:30 pm

Callista wrote:
Quote:
A properly done IQ test can be very accurate
It doesn't measure anything other than your ability to do IQ tests, though.


Well, as I pointed out, there are variations of IQ tests for those who don't do well with traditional tests. They are engineered to measure functional mental capacity where traditional "intelligence" tests would be useless.

All IQ tests do is measure "intelligence." For someone with a lack of formal education, there are other ways to measure the performance of the mind in doing a task...which translates over to how "intelligent" someone really is.



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12 Apr 2009, 6:38 pm

I only did one general IQ test. I hated the questions where you have to guess the next number in a series, I just couldn't be bothered with those so I skipped them all except for the easy ones. I might have been able to work them out if I''d got into the ideas and taken the trouble, but I just felt annoyed at them. I have an attittude against complicated numbers sometimes, though I love the simpler ones. And I was at work and didn't have much time. When I finished, the result was that I'd got a very good IQ and it said I'd finished the test very quickly which was good - of course it was quick because I'd ducked out on all the questions that would have taken much time. I don't believe the result and can't even remember what it was except that it was supposed to be good. I suspected they tried to flatter me so they could sell me stuff, but I didn't give them the chance.

I only did the test because I wanted to find out whether my verbal intelligence was better than my nonverbal intelligence, to see if I had high functioning autism or AS. The verbal intelligence came out very well and I enjoyed doing that. I couldn't find a nonverbal IQ test so I had to settle for a general IQ test. Maybe I just have poor nonverbal intelligence and hate complicated number puzzles because of that, but I get the impression that it's my dislike of them that makes me bad at them. I suppose if I read a book about how to solve those things, I could get a lot better, but I think it's nerdy - it's very bad of me to think that and I try not to judge other people for loving those things, but it's just the way I am. I just don't see the point, they seem to have nothing to do with any abilities that anybody would need in real life.

I also don't think IQ tests measure anything useful, they're just to create an artificial competition so they can label some people as losers. If my scores were low then it could be sour grapes, but they're not low. I don't want to be a winner on something so irrelevent and trumped up.

Sorry I've ranted a bit and not really on topic. Just ignore it if you don't think it's interesting.