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Scientists debunk the IQ myth: Notion of measuring one's intelligence
quotient by singular, standardized test is highly misleading
Date:
December 19, 2012
Source:
University of Western Ontario
Summary:
After conducting the largest online intelligence study on
record, scientists concluded that the notion of measuring one's
intelligence quotient or IQ by a singular, standardized test is
highly misleading.
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FULL STORY
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After conducting the largest online intelligence study on record, a
Western University-led research team has concluded that the notion of
measuring one's intelligence quotient or IQ by a singular, standardized
test is highly misleading.
The findings from the landmark study, which included more than 100,000
participants, were published Dec. 19 in the journal Neuron. The
article, "Fractionating human intelligence," was written by Adrian M.
Owen and Adam Hampshire from Western's Brain and Mind Institute
(London, Canada) and Roger Highfield, Director of External Affairs,
Science Museum Group (London, U.K).
Utilizing an online study open to anyone, anywhere in the world, the
researchers asked respondents to complete 12 cognitive tests tapping
memory, reasoning, attention and planning abilities, as well as a
survey about their background and lifestyle habits.
"The uptake was astonishing," says Owen, the Canada Excellence Research
Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging and senior investigator on
the project. "We expected a few hundred responses, but thousands and
thousands of people took part, including people of all ages, cultures
and creeds from every corner of the world."
The results showed that when a wide range of cognitive abilities are
explored, the observed variations in performance can only be explained
with at least three distinct components: short-term memory, reasoning
and a verbal component.
No one component, or IQ, explained everything. Furthermore, the
scientists used a brain scanning technique known as functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), to show that these differences in cognitive
ability map onto distinct circuits in the brain.
With so many respondents, the results also provided a wealth of new
information about how factors such as age, gender and the tendency to
play computer games influence our brain function.
"Regular brain training didn't help people's cognitive performance at
all yet aging had a profound negative effect on both memory and
reasoning abilities," says Owen.
Hampshire adds, "Intriguingly, people who regularly played computer
games did perform significantly better in terms of both reasoning and
short-term memory. And smokers performed poorly on the short-term
memory and the verbal factors, while people who frequently suffer from
anxiety performed badly on the short-term memory factor in particular."
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* RELATED TERMS
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__________________________________________________________________
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Western Ontario. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.
__________________________________________________________________
Journal Reference:
1. Adam Hampshire, Roger R. Highfield, Beth L. Parkin, Adrian M. Owen.
Fractionating Human Intelligence. Neuron, 2012; 76 (6): 1225 DOI:
10.1016/j.neuron.2012.06.022
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Cite This Page:
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University of Western Ontario. "Scientists debunk the IQ myth: Notion
of measuring one's intelligence quotient by singular, standardized test
is highly misleading." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 December 2012.
.
University of Western Ontario. (2012, December 19). Scientists debunk
the IQ myth: Notion of measuring one's intelligence quotient by
singular, standardized test is highly misleading. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved November 28, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/
121219133334.htm
University of Western Ontario. "Scientists debunk the IQ myth: Notion
of measuring one's intelligence quotient by singular, standardized test
is highly misleading." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012
/12/121219133334.htm (accessed November 28, 2025).
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