Intelligence quotient

An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. Originally, IQ was a quotient obtained by dividing a person's estimated mental age, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person's chronological age. The resulting fraction was multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score. For modern IQ tests, the raw score is transformed to a normal distribution with mean 100 and standard deviation 15. This results in approximately two-thirds of the population scoring between IQ 85 and IQ 115 and about 2 percent each above 130 and below 70. Scores from intelligence tests are estimates of intelligence. Unlike quantities such as distance or mass, a concrete measure of intelligence cannot be achieved given the abstract nature of the concept. IQ scores have been shown to be associated with factors such as nutrition, parental socioeconomic status, morbidity and mortality, parental social status, and perinatal environment. While the heritability of IQ has been studied for nearly a century, there is still debate over the significance of heritability estimates and the mechanisms of inheritance. IQ scores have been used for educational placement, assessment of intellectual ability, and evaluating job applicants. In research contexts, they have been studied as predictors of job performance and income. They are also used to study distributions of psychometric intelligence in populations and the correlations between it and other variables. Raw scores on IQ tests for many populations have been rising at an average rate of three IQ points per decade since the early 20th century, a phenomenon called the Flynn effect. Historically, many proponents of IQ testing have been eugenicists who used pseudoscience to push ideas of racial hierarchy in order to justify segregation and oppose immigration. Such ideas have been rejected by a...