Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Augmentation
IQMindware.com
HRPLab.org
Cambridge, UK
Foreword
IQ is a measure of our general cognitive ability. We live in an increasingly
cognitive world.
‘Cognition’ comes from the Latin cognosco – con ‘with’ + gnōscō ‘know’ – and
the Ancient Greek verb meaning ‘I know, perceive’. Cognition concerns getting,
storing, processing and using knowledge. It concerns perception, memory,
learning, problem-solving, strategy, skill-sets, expertise and decision-making.
At a meta-level it involves goal focus, mental flexibility, multi-tasking,
prioritization and self-control. The meta-level is called ‘executive functioning’
by cognitive neuroscientists.
Cognitive ability enables us to learn and use the technologies & skills,
and process the information that enriches our culture and social lives.
IQ & Resilience
Definitions
Intelligence, g & IQ
How smart we are – our intelligence - is our ability to grasp situations, reason,
problem-solve, and learn and act efficiently and effectively. An op-ed statement
in the Wall Street Journal signed by fifty-two researchers in the field defined
intelligence as:
This was a definition from back in 1995 – 20 years ago. It’s still valid, but over
the past 20 years there has been a shift of emphasis in how we see intelligence
- partly due to entrepreneurial productivity and partly due to the success of the
artificial intelligence (AI) movement.
From the innovation culture comes and emphasis on productivity, captured by:
There is good evidence for a general factor of intelligence, or g factor (g), that
summarizes the correlations observed between an individual’s scores on a wide
range of cognitive abilities. This is what IQ tests measure.
IQ test scores give us a baseline measure of this general factor, and IQ test
scores vary like a bell curve, with an average of 100 and most scores
(approximately 70%) falling between 85 and 115. An IQ higher than 115 – in the
top 15% - can be considered a high IQ.
Cognitive Capital
Statistical research reveals a clear link between IQ level and income or wealth.
Here is some data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics back in 2008. Tested
IQ scores range from 84 to 116.
Looking at cognitive performance more globally, in 2010 Rindermann &
Thompson analyzed IQ test scores from 90 countries and found that the
intelligence of the people – especially the smartest 5 percent – made a big
contribution to the strength of their economies.
For each one-point increase in a country’s average IQ, the per capita gross
domestic product (GDP) was $229 higher. For the smartest 5% of the
population in each country it made an even greater difference: for every
additional IQ point in that group, a country’s per capita GDP was $468 higher.
And:
Cognitive Resilience
“The moment we believe that success is determined by an
ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard
work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” Joshua
Waitzkin
Cognitive resilience is more important than ever because (a) there has been a
steady rise in stress levels over recent decades, and (c) much of this stress is
due to workload that is typically the demand for productivity and cognitive
performance.
Cognitive resilience enables us to maintain mental focus and clarity in times of
stress and crisis and bounce back from setbacks. Cognitive resilience also
reduces susceptibility to serious cognitive health issues – insomnia, anxiety,
depression and burnout, as well as cognitive decline (dementia, Alzheimer’s)
with aging. In recent years, UK doctors have been noticing a sharp uptick in
visits from patients reporting stress, anxiety and dementia issues, and this
trend is not confined to the UK.
Chapter 2.
IQ & Resilience
Increasing
Technologies
Working Memory Training, Smart
Drugs and tDCS Reviewed
The practical advantages of having a high IQ increases as our work/career
environments become more changeable and complex – more novel, ambiguous,
unpredictable, or multifaceted. This advantage is held in place with cognitive
resilience.
Working memory has a limited capacity – it’s a cognitive bottleneck. The bigger
that capacity the more the cognitive ‘RAM’ power we have for processing and
applying information and knowledge to the task at hand. This kind brainpower
lies at the core of being smart.
IQ training software has now been developed for
selectively targeting working memory circuitry, resulting
in long term neuroplasticity changes increasing short
term memory capacity, problem solving ability, self-
control and overall IQ. One example of this kind of
training is the dual n-back.
In choosing an n-back working memory training app, ensure that you have a
version that incorporates interference control training. Recent
research (article 1, article 2) show that the link between intelligence and
working memory is specifically in interference control – the ability to filter
out distracting information that attracts your attention. Most readily available
n-back training programs do not incorporate this critical feature.
It should be noted that some popular providers have working memory and dual
n-back games in the menu of options, but because the training does not drill
down on these for a minimum of 8 hours over a period of 6-8 weeks, the
neuroplasticity change and associated cognitive benefits are not attained.
Low resilience is marked by stress reactivity and brooding. These are risk
factors for developing depression.
This has implications for disorders associated with low resilience, as they
conclude:
Burnout
Gavelin and colleagues (2015) have recently looked at the additional benefits of
working memory brain training to a standard stress-rehabilitation program for
patients diagnosed with burnout.
In 2008 the science journal Nature launched an informal survey into readers’
use of cognition-enhancing drugs, and found large-scale use among
academics. One in five respondents said they had used drugs for non-medical
reasons to stimulate their focus, concentration or memory.
The Nature authors outline the evidence in favor of the effectiveness of ‘smart
drugs’ and I will quote at length from the section “Paths to Enhancement” which
reviews the nootropics known to enhance brain function:
Modafinil
Aricept
In late 2010, a group of researchers from University College London and Oxford
University published a study showing that tDCS applied to the parietal lobes
enhanced a person’s mathematical ability selectively, without influencing other
cognitive functions. The improvement was found to have persisted six months
after the training, showing the IQ gain was long-lasting.
In another study published recently, a team at Centre for the Mind at the
University of Sydney demonstrated that tDCS can dramatically improve insight
problem solving. Three times as many cortically stimulated individuals
succeeded in solving puzzles needing creative insight. People find it difficult to
think outside of the box because their problem solving ‘mind set’ becomes
crystallized by habits. By inhibiting the activity of the left temporal lobe, and
stimulating activity in the right temporal lobe, this team changed the balance
between the two hemispheres of the brain, leading to better release from
mental sets and better creative insight.
One of the team, Professor Snyder, believes brain boosting headgear could be
widely used.
Some of the most recent work on tDCS was presented recently by Professor
Prof Heidi Johansen-Berg and her colleagues at Oxford University. They found
that just ten minutes of motor cortex brain stimulation increases the speed of
learning motor skills. In their study a musical keyboard sequence was the
learning task.
The researchers envisage the technique could be used to help in the training of
athletes and suggest that the same method could be applied to other parts of
the brain (such as the frontal or parietal cortex) to improve educational
learning simply by positioning the electrodes in different locations so the
current is focused on the correct area.
Non-Supporting Studies
Despite the excitement about the potential of tDCS for cognitive enhancement,
more studies are needed. A recent 2015 randomized, double-blind, placebo
controlled study looking directly at tDCS applied to the dorso-lateral prefrontal
cortex (dlPFC) reported a reduction in IQ test performance compared to the
non-tDCS control group – particularly for matrix reasoning tests. There are
different tDCS methods and it’s important to look at the pattern of results from
multiple studies.
Either way, unlike working memory brain training and nootropics, tDCS is not
firmly established as an effective cognitive intervention.
Summary
In this article I have reviewed two technologies – working memory brain
training and nootropics - that can have a substantial IQ increasing effect by the
exacting standards of peer reviewed scientific research. tDCS may also offer
cognitive benefits, but more evidence is needed. Brain training also has benefits
for building cognitive resilience.
IQ Tests
General Intelligence (G)
As we have discussed, the most general concept of cognitive performance is
that of general intelligence.
IQ Tests
The most well-known measure of general intelligence – or g - is a standardized
IQ test. ‘IQ’ stands for ‘intelligence quotient’. Standardized means that scores
can be compared in the general population and you know what score is needed
to be in a certain percentile – for instance above average, or in the top 2%
(Mensa standard). Examples of IQ tests include the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale, the Stanford-Binet, and the Cattell Culture Fair test, and Raven’s
Progressive Matrices.
There are many bogus IQ tests on the web that either don’t accurately or
reliably measure your general intelligence, or which give you an inflated score.
Valid, reliable, standardized tests are difficult to locate and are usually
professionally administered.
IQ tests are widely used in our institutions and organisations because of their
consistency and validity. Schools and universities use IQ tests (or ‘aptitude
tests’) to select and stream students, companies use IQ tests to screen
applicants, with estimates of 80% of Fortune 500 companies’ HR departments
using these kinds of tests for recruitment.
The area under the curve between scores corresponds to the % in the
population between those score. The scores on this IQ bell curve are color-
coded in ‘standard deviation units’. A standard deviation is a measure of the
spread of the distribution. 15 points is one standard deviation for most IQ tests.
Nearly 70% of the population score between 85 and 115 – i.e. plus and minus
one standard deviation. A very small percentage of the population (about 0.1%
or 1 in 1000) have scores less than 55 or greater than 145 – that is, more than 3
standard deviations out!
A critical insight from research over the past decade is that IQ is not a fixed,
genetically determined attribute. An individual’s score on the bell curve is not
static. Over time – weeks, months or years – an IQ level can change substantially.
IQ Level
This table indicates how IQ levels can be classified. The IQ ranges are
conventional ones.
IQ Score Scale
The opportunity to take two IQ test papers. The Cattell III B and the
Cattell Culture Fair III A.
The marking of your IQ test papers and your results returned to you in
confidence.
Mensa Supervised test sessions are held at centres throughout your home
country. Click here for details from International Mensa. For those in
the US click here. For those in the UK click here.
IQ-Brain.com offers 3 realistic fluid IQ tests based on Cattell, RPM and the
Mensa-administered Figure Reasoning Test (FRT). The IQ score estimates are
comparable what users have been able to achieve on proctor-administered
tests. The tests have a similar number of questions and time pressure as both
FRT and the Cattell culture fair IIIa tests which are often administered by
Mensa to test fluid intelligence. This test-developer recruited a cohort of test
takers from all walks of life, but more importantly several test takers who
had taken a Mensa-administered IQ test. The test developer calibrated the test
to ensure that the raw score required to achieve a passing score of 132 was in
line with the Mensa threshold of difficulty. The test developer believes that if
you can achieve an IQ score of 132 on his tests, that you stand a good chance of
achieving a similar result with a Mensa-administered test.
The cost of 1 test result is $9.00, 2 test results for $12.00 and 3 test results for
$15.00. The tests measure IQs up to 148.
The GIQ Test is an online analogue for the most common clinically
proctored IQ tests. In our internal study, the GIQ Test correlated within
about 4% of an individual’s full scale score on a clinically proctored IQ
test. The GIQ Test’s sections are modelled after clinical IQ test sections.
IQ Mindware IQ Tests
This test battery also has valid tests for decision-making, cognitive resilience
and EQ (emotional intelligence) as well as burnout, anxiety and depression –
for an overall ‘cognitive profile’.
Self Quantification
The fact that the tests can be taken multiple times means that you can track
your brain performance and resilience over time, and if you are doing brain
training or using nootropics, you can measure the gains objectively.
An IQ in the top 2%
Getting into Mensa is not easy, even with ample preparation and training. You
have to score at or above the 98th percentile – the top 2% – on a standardized,
professionally administered IQ test. This is typically a score of 130 or more.
The Mensa qualifying IQ score is a score that puts you in the top 2% of the
population in a bell curve like this one. The Mensa qualifying score is 130 or
higher, as shown below.
This table indicates how IQ levels can be classified.
Note that this IQ scale is meaningless unless you obtain a score from a valid,
standardized IQ test. Most of these tests are professionally administered –
for a fee!
The more well-known IQ tests can cost in the region of $300-$500 for a
professionally administered assessment.
Mensa Supervised test sessions are held at centres throughout your home
country. Click here for details from International Mensa. For those in the
US click here. For those in the UK click here.
Alternatively you can take the online Mensa home test for $18. As explained by
American Mensa:
The Mensa Home Test is a fun way to discover if you are Mensa material.
While this timed test will not qualify you for membership, it does offer
an equivalent score that correlates to your IQ range and provides a strong
indication of your likelihood for success should you choose to take our
admission test. For only $18, you can take the Mensa Home Test online
now, and it will be scored immediately.
Other online practice tests
The GIQ Test
As reviewed above, the GIQ test will give you a decent standardized estimate of
your ‘full scale’ IQ – combining fluid intelligence (non-verbal) and verbal
problems. The fee is $10. According to the test-makers:
The GIQ Test is an online analog for the most common clinically
proctored IQ tests. In our internal study, the GIQ Test correlated within
about 4% of an individual’s full scale score on a clinically proctored IQ
test. The GIQ Test’s sections are modelled after clinical IQ test sections.
The iqtest.dk
The iqtest.dk test is a fluid intelligence test of culture-fair reasoning and
problem solving skills. As explained on the website:
To prepare for a full scale Mensa qualifying test, we recommend the following.
Additional information
There are now around 100,000 Mensans in 100 countries throughout the world.
There are active Mensa organizations in over 40 countries on every continent
except Antarctica. The website for Mensa International can be found here.
Websites for national groups can be found here.
Social life
Local groups meet monthly or even more regularly. There are widely attended
annual conventions offering workshops, seminars, and parties.
Career advantage
In some countries Mensa sponsors a members-only credit card and insurance
program. There is also a program that aids traveling Mensans. There have been
reports that job applications have been easier with Mensa membership on your
CV – particularly if the hiring person is also a Mensan.
More on Evidence-Based Apps
If you are interested in finding out more about effective working memory
training apps, sign-up to this invitation-only mailing list.