Types and levels of intelligence. What does it depend on? How to increase IQ?

Intelligence in psychology and not only is considered as a complex of mental and mental abilities. In general, its definition is as follows: it is the mind, the quality of the psyche, expressed in the ability to cognition, to realize something, to learn, to remember. The functions of intelligence are based on experience and its quality. An intelligent person is one who is able to understand and apply not only standard, but also non-standard ideas. He can use knowledge to control the world around him.

You can learn more about what the mind is from the article. We also show development methods and answer the question of how to determine your own IQ (intelligence quotient).

History of the study: basic and important points of view

Speaking about the historical milestones of the concept of “intelligence,” it is worth noting the achievements of some researchers and scientists. There are many theories, approaches and schools, but it is inappropriate to consider any one or any one as the only true one without immersing yourself in the theory.

Noteworthy in the history of the study is the experience of the creators of special tests for assessing IQ - J. Cattell and L. Theremin . But their main merit is not that they created informative methods for identifying intellectual abilities. They were among the first who managed to substantiate the absence of dependence of the development of intelligence on the conditions in which the formation of personality takes place. Later, all their evidence was destroyed, and their work was declared invalid.

In a sense, the opposite point of view was expressed by A. Binet and T. Simon . In their works, they consider the mind as a complex of abilities based on experience, as a set of achievements in mental development.

The work done by D. Wexler . He was able to show that the reasonable behavior of every person is based primarily on the influence of intellectual factors.

From the point of view of child psychology, the contribution made to the study and analysis of the problem by V. Stern . He was able to prove that the development of children's mental abilities is influenced by the quality of relationships with people around them. Not only with adults, but also with peers, for example, in kindergarten or at school.

Let us present the points of view of other researchers, figures not related to science, their views and approaches to the definition of the analyzed concept:

Thomas Aquinas viewed the divine mind as an essence existing “in parts” in each of the people. He believed that human mental abilities are limited only by the sphere of the mind, which contributes to contemplation and comprehension of something;
L. S. Gottfredson viewed intelligence as a unique mental ability. She said that it included the ability to plan, solve various problems, think, learn and study;
F. N. Ilyasov considers the IQ indicator as an expression of the ability of a material system (a person for him is a material being) for independent learning, for constructing various programs and activity algorithms.

of Ch. Spearman should also be noted . He managed to prove that all mental abilities are connected and have a static connection. He justified this by the fact that if a person is capable of solving one conditional group of complex and non-standard problems, then he can easily solve others, even if effort is required.

Thus, we can say that the history of the study of the concept is centuries-old. The problem was studied by both scientists in antiquity (Thomas Aquinas, XIII century), and scientists of the 19th-20th centuries. (C. Spearman and others). There are also many modern researchers who continue the work begun centuries ago.

Do you think the topic deserves close attention?

Yes! There is so much unknown... And the sphere of intellect is part of this unknown.

100%

No. There are much more important and pressing problems. First you need to deal with them.

Can not say. I don't realize the importance of such research.

Voted: 4

Basic functions of intelligence

Let's highlight 4 main functions and tie them to real life examples. This is necessary to simplify understanding of the essence and content of individual functions. Here they are:

Promoting the occupation of certain positions in different communities, as well as the acceptance of roles and statuses. Without developed intelligence, no person can adequately take on certain responsibilities. An example is a man’s acceptance of the role of father after the birth of a child. If the IQ is not high enough, the tasks associated with fatherhood will be solved unsatisfactorily.
Gaining knowledge, mastering skills, development . Everything here is exactly the same as in the case of the first point. Let's show everything with an example: an intellectually developed person is capable of learning, can independently search for information, process and systematize it. It's different when it comes to people with weak minds.
Demonstration of talents and realization of potential. The quality of mental abilities determines how fully a particular person reveals his own talents and realizes his potential. Example: a highly intelligent person decides to master a new field of activity. It comes easy to her. A lack of intelligence in this situation will lead either to difficulties in business or to the absolute inability of the individual to use his own resources in order to achieve the goal.
Self-realization . This is almost the same as point three. But here it is more fair to talk about the quality of abilities and the “strength” of the impulses of a particular person in terms of solving problems that stand in the way of his development, including personal development. A simple example: a high school student sets himself the goal of finishing the year “excellently,” that is, getting straight A’s. If his IQ is sufficient, everything will be fine. Otherwise there will be problems.

So, we can say that without developed intelligence, any activity, any thought is something that will not have a productive result or implementation. Neither thoughts nor actions can be effective and efficient without developed intelligence.

Which feature do you think is most important?

First. It seems to me that roles and statuses need to be perceived adequately to their significance.

Second. Without knowledge and development, none of us could exist in the world in which we live.

100%

Third. Talented people make the world a better place.

Fourth. I think self-realization is very important.

Voted: 2

“Effective” indicators for assessing intellectual results.

The passion for measurable indicators leads to tragicomic situations, for example, when the work of an accountant is measured by the number of documents processed, the labor protection service by the number of accidents that occurred at work, and designers by the number of advertising layouts made, without paying attention to quality. In my opinion, it is impossible to evaluate human activity solely on the basis of quantitative (measurable) indicators. And when it comes to assessing creative and intellectual activity, it is even more impossible to do this without “qualitative” and “subjective” indicators. Qualitative and subjective indicators in our understanding are: a plan of tasks (verified indicators - Fig. 2), from which an employee’s work plan for the period is formed, and performance standards (evaluated indicators - Fig. 3), determined by the degree of compliance with internal regulations, requirements and restrictions . In other words, we supplement KPI management with a set of qualitative (tested and evaluated) indicators.

Figure 2. Example of a task plan

Some point out that this increases the degree of subjectivity, which the manager so wanted to get away from. I would like to object to this - is there really no subjectivity in KPI management? In my opinion, there is no less of it: the choice of KPIs themselves, the determination of planned values, the method of calculating the indicator, the choice of available methods for achieving results - everything is determined by the person.

In intellectual activity, more attention is paid to the subjective component, and the role of the manager in summing up the results is undoubtedly higher. Qualitative indicators (if applicable) should be complemented by quantitative and measurable ones. Then the performance assessment will be comprehensive and fair. It is obvious that the manager who is involved in determining quality indicators (tasks and standards) has an additional burden. But in practice, we can say that the employee himself successfully copes with the formation of a task plan, and for assessment according to standards, the requirements can be described in detail in the regulations, and internal experts can be involved in summing up the results.

Figure 3. Example of assessment according to system administrator standards

When implementing a target management system in the web studio with which we collaborated, for some time now the performance of developers began to be assessed using a set of quality indicators. According to the head of the web studio, Dmitry Maslov, “since then, everything has changed dramatically: the same people, the same programmers who missed deadlines in the past, began to manage to complete all priority tasks during the planning iteration.”

Types of intelligence in psychology

There is one notable classification. This is Gardner's classification of intelligence. He is a proponent of the concept of multiple intelligences.

The scientist was able to identify the following 9 species:

Visual-spatial. This is about a vivid imagination, the ability to fantasize and navigate in any situation.
Linguistic. It's about the love of reading and communication. People with this type of intelligence have developed talents in preparing essays and the ability to study foreign languages.
Musical. In this case, the following areas are developed: perception of music and rhythm; ability to sing and master musical instruments; sense of poetry and tact. People with success in teaching music and conducting are most often found with this type of intelligence.
Interpersonal. It’s about the ability to build communications, understanding people’s moods, and productivity when working in a team. Often people with such abilities become leaders, psychologists, and diplomats.
Intrapersonal. In this case, everything is the opposite of what is written in paragraph four. However, the high ability for reflection in people with such a dominant type of mind makes them excellent writers, philosophers and more.
Naturalistic. This is about a high interest in the world around us. This is about the craving for biology, chemistry, physics. Naturalists are often experimenters, geologists, and ecologists.
Bodily-kinetic. It is characteristic of people who are able to convey emotions through “bodily means.” High coordination, developed motor skills, craving for sports and constant activity - all this is about them.
Logical-mathematical. This type is accompanied by the ability to quickly analyze data, visualize it, reason logically and quickly remember information. People with it often become mathematicians, programmers, and engineers.
Existential. There is an opinion that this species is a priori characteristic of people. It is expressed in the ability to think.

Initially, Gardner identified only 8 types. They were not assigned an intrapersonal type. However, as his activities progressed, the psychologist decided to revise the classification under pressure from colleagues and supplemented it. We have presented a later version, although it is most often said that in fact Gardner is the author of the classification of eight types of intelligence. This is not entirely true.

There are two notable groups of intellectual abilities, identified by scientists based on the criteria of “the ability to understand people’s behavior” and “the ability to understand emotions and feelings.”

Emotional intellect

It is usually considered as a set of knowledge and skills, an individual’s abilities in terms of recognizing feelings and managing emotions. If the emotional sphere is sufficiently developed, a person will be capable of understanding intentions and motivations. Both our own and others. It is common to talk about emotional intelligence as a flexible skill, that is, it can be developed and formed.

There is an opinion that the level of development of the emotional sphere of intellectual abilities determines how successful a person will be in life and in his career.

If this type of mind is poorly developed, if a low level of IQ is observed in this direction, the person will have the following qualities:

irritability;
conflict;
indecision.

We can say, therefore, that if the emotional component of general IQ suffers, then the person experiences difficulties communicating with other people and is indecisive. However, this kind of deficiency can be compensated for either by developing the appropriate skills or by “pumping up” the social components of intelligence.

Social intelligence

The ability to interact in society and the behavior of the individual depend on how developed it is. A socially intelligent person is able to correctly understand people. He has skills, in a sense acquired, in terms of interpersonal interaction, as well as in terms of social adaptation.

People in whom this type of intellectual spectrum ability is well developed are characterized by the following qualities:

the speed of making judgments about others;
development of analytical skills;
depth of understanding of things, objects and phenomena, people.

It is generally accepted that if a person has equally and well developed emotional and social spheres of intelligence, then he is almost a genius. But this is a rather controversial statement. Achieving success and being an effective person capable of self-development does not mean having outstanding IQ scores.

Which of the psychological types shown is typical for you in your opinion?

It seems to me that it is emotional. The description fits.

I think it's social. I understand people quickly and easily, have good analytical skills and have a deep insight into what interests me.

66.67%

I think that in my case everything is approximately at the same level.

I find it difficult to answer.

33.33%

Voted: 3

Levels of intellectual activity

It is customary to distinguish 3 intellectual levels, which, by the way, have been and are being considered by many scientists who have devoted themselves to developments in determining the IQ indicator.

Each intellectual level presented below is characterized by unique features. Let's describe them:

Stimulus-productive level . In this case, mental activity depends on how strongly external factors influence the personality. We are talking about incentives and the productivity of reactions to them. At this level, it is fair to speak of any act of mental activity as limited by initially received ideas about something. At the same time, a person is capable of solving various kinds of problems, but there is almost no coherence and consistency in these decisions: everything is carried out in a formulaic, sometimes mechanical way.
Heuristic . Here the matter concerns spontaneity in cognition, which often ensures the effectiveness of mastering and understanding various patterns. At this level, a person gains the ability to formulate general ideas from disparate problems and phenomena. At the same time, she herself begins to identify various patterns and find explanations for them.
Creative . This level is the highest. Here the individual becomes an analyst, capable of solving even the most complex problems. Here, at the cost of effort or without it, she easily “gets to the bottom” of all things, objects and phenomena.

Signs of High Intelligence

It is believed that the most obvious signs that everything is fine with a person’s intellect are the following:

honed professional skills , the ability to learn new skills without effort. If we talk only about the professional sphere, it is inappropriate to use the concept of “intellectual”: even a person who does not have an outstanding mind can become a professional in this or that matter. It's about mechanicalness, about remembering. This is about a pattern due to which long-term practice of something almost always leads to at least good results. Such qualities contribute to the fact that any adaptation for a person is always an extremely easy adaptation;
the ability to concentrate attention on what is important, switch it to necessary things and keep it on them. Inattention and absent-mindedness are considered as signs that something is wrong with a person’s IQ;
developed self-control . At the same time, a person can control not only his own actions and actions, but also, to some extent, influence the emotions, feelings, and behavior of people around him;
sense of humor adequate to reality . The point is not that a person values and encourages only intellectual, for example, humor. It’s exclusively about what he realizes, literally senses and senses the line of appropriateness. In this case, a person can equally like “dark” jokes and those that require mental effort to understand. But in any situation, he first of all, on a mechanical level, evaluates the appropriateness. If a particular act of humor is not appropriate, there will be no laughter. There will only be censure, albeit silent.

Which parameter indicates “backwardness”?

There are several such parameters. Of course, it is more advisable to use tests and rely on the opinions of researchers, but we can identify the following group of signals that IQ is at an insufficient level. It doesn’t have to be low at all. We are talking exclusively about the lack of development as such.

Here are the symptoms:

suggestibility . It can be explained by the fact that a person is simply not capable of going, as they say, his own way. It is easier for him to listen to others, to act as others act. It’s easier for him to follow the beaten path;
statement . This is almost the same as suggestibility, but in the context of activity and decision making. Even if a person decides for himself that this or that path will be the only correct one for him, for example, he can be unsettled by citing the action or opinion of another “authoritative” person as an example;
poor vocabulary . Poor vocabulary is often linked to problems with memory and learning. This is one of the signals of low intellectual abilities. The simplest example, typical of undistinguished youth, is the use and abundance of words and phrases in speech: “well”; "type"; “as if” and so on. In the worst cases, young people use 5 significant words per 10 words. Everything else is just verbal garbage.
tendency to think narrowly . This, for example, is about the inability to look at familiar things from an unusual angle.

What signs could you find in yourself?

Only good. I feel proud. Hooray!

50%

Sad to admit, but negative. We need to improve our knowledge and abilities.

25%

Both those and those. Confused (confused).

Can not say. I behave and display qualities based on the context of specific situations.

25%

Voted: 4

Three level system

The first level forms a set of functional mechanisms of cognitive abilities. This is natural, non-verbal intelligence. The effectiveness of the functioning of the natural level of intelligence in comparison with others, determined by the characteristics of the ENT subject, consists of two main indicators:

degree of expression of individual cognitive abilities;
the degree of connectivity between them.

In its pure form, it is difficult to single out the work of this particular level; we can only talk about a certain predominance or tendency to predominance in certain cases of the natural basis of intelligence, for example, when a simultaneous image of the surrounding reality is formed, i.e. looking, listening, measuring, comparing tones, halftones, shades, etc. (in the description of the stages of the formation of a sensory image, these are the first and second stages: finding an object and distinguishing it, highlighting certain features in the object, i.e., up to perceptual acts), when the subject remembers and reproduces directly and involuntarily, as well as when thinking arises “ to words”, guess, sudden insight, instant understanding, i.e. insight, creativity. Moreover, it is an involuntary, involuntary work of secondary images, that is, the turning, overturning or transformation of old images and the emergence of new images without conscious control over this process. Finally, it is the unconscious imagination of mental activity on something. Moreover, it is at this level that the origins of intuition should be sought.

The natural level of mental activity is difficult to control. Natural intelligence manifests itself in humor, unexpected metaphors, new ideas, trains of thought, etc. The qualitative originality of natural intelligence in terms of behavior and activity manifests itself in different ways: from the insight of a designer to the instant comprehension of harmony, meaning, individuality or disharmony of an artistic image, the image of an artist, etc.

The second level of intellectual activity is due to the emergence of a system of operating mechanisms of cognitive abilities. The effectiveness of this level of intellectual activity will vary depending on the form in which the subject weaves information into his experience: in the form of concepts, images, associations, with the help of specific examples, etc. Thus, the second level of intelligence represents the unity of operational mechanisms and the system of ideas that a given subject possesses. The productivity of the second level of intellectual activity (verbal, conceptual, logical intelligence) is determined by the following indicators

A variety of ways to process information;
degree of proficiency in these or any other functions;
The breadth and depth of the representative image of the individual (the image of the individual’s world), i.e. degree of organization of the subject's knowledge
Type of dominant level of information processing: conceptual, associative, figurative, visual, etc.;
The share of “participation of concepts” in the process of presenting new information by a person.

The third level of intelligence is the regulation of mental activity. Each known method of processing information has its own structure, which can be described by a system of actions: Goal setting, orientation, decision making, foresight, planning, control, evaluation and correction. It is internal regulation that forms the basis for regulating activities. Internal regulation is ensured by external regulation: needs, motives, sense of duty, self-concept, volitional qualities and emotional reactions.

What factors influence mental abilities?

They are influenced to one degree or another by the following factors: heredity; development of thinking; nutrition, including maternal nutrition during pregnancy; parenting talents and others.

Here are specific examples:

genetics (heredity). There are many studies confirming the fact that men and women with high IQ scores raise the same children;
influence of external factors. These are, for example, the methods of education used by a person’s parents in his childhood, the availability of education, and so on;
influence of peers and friends.

It is inappropriate to speak unequivocally about the factors influencing intelligence. Much depends on the individual traits and characteristics of specific people, their susceptibility to something.

An interesting and scientifically substantiated fact: there are differences in mental abilities due to gender and age characteristics.

Gender differences

Speaking about them, we should first of all dispel the popular myth that men are smarter than women. This is wrong. But there are differences, proven by many studies, which can be shown in abstract form as follows:

girls develop more actively in terms of developing intelligence up to the age of 15, while boys, until they reach this age, often show some signs of inability to mature and develop;
Most male scientists work in areas related to the exact sciences, while women, who are outstanding researchers, work in the humanities.

Age differences

It is inappropriate to say that the foundation of intelligence is age. On average, the peak of knowledge of something for different people falls on approximately the same age periods. Here are specific examples:

IQ increases rapidly until the age of eighteen. Transitional periods slow it down.
At about 20 years of age, intellectual development begins to slow down.
The maximum development of arithmetic and logical potential occurs at the age of approximately 30 years.
After fifty, some people begin to look at psychological issues that previously seemed complex to them as completely understandable and simple.

We can say that all the age differences that have been shown are due precisely to the age at which a person is.

Conclusions.

To summarize, the basic techniques for managing a team that creates an intellectual product can be summarized as follows:

a. Identify and recruit intrinsically motivated employees. Teach and develop their professional skills.

b. Form ambitious goals, distribute these goals among the team, carefully and carefully monitor the degree to which each individual achieves the goal. Use qualitative indicators for assessment, strive to abandon quantitative ones.

c. Study the reasons for success and failure. Celebrate outstanding successes.

d. Do not try to stimulate employee activity and efficiency with financial rewards. Give employees the opportunity to compare their results with previous ones.

e. Study changes in employee motives and eliminate demotivating factors.

f. Always fight mediocrity - fire those who are not able to regularly produce high-quality results.

How to increase IQ?

Development methods are simple and obvious. Here are 9 recommendations:

Train your brain and memory. Good examples: solving math problems, memorizing phone numbers of friends and dialing them without consulting the phone book.
Watch your diet. With food, necessary substances enter our body. The functioning of the brain depends on some. If the diet is of poor quality, the likelihood of problems with mental activity will be high.
Don't overexert yourself. Your waking and sleeping patterns should be balanced and suit you.
Read books. There is no need to talk about the usefulness of reading.
Find an intellectual hobby or passion. Plus - the opportunity to do interesting things for yourself and “pump up” your IQ.
Learn new things. An example is learning a “cute” foreign language.
Watch educational films. Comedies and action films, thrillers are all great, but your weekly “bill” should always include some kind of film made by, for example, National Geographic.
Try to start studying what you have long wanted. Maybe as a child you liked topics related to space? Then forward to the “stars”.
Don't let routine “devour” you. Change your habits, rearrange your home, take different routes to work.

How to increase a child's intellectual abilities?

Here are recommendations to help children develop:

teach them to eat properly and exercise regularly;
Make sure that your study, activity and rest schedule is balanced. Mental and physical fatigue negatively affects the development of a fragile organism;
teach children to read. It is not at all necessary that they are only interested in books from the school curriculum;
Offer intellectual games such as Monopoly and chess during joint leisure;
enroll your child in a foreign language course;
Offer joint solutions to various intellectual problems and passing IQ tests.

If all the advice presented during practical implementation is combined with love and care for the child, he will become very smart. And over time, everything that you taught your child will become part of his habits.

How to increase intelligence in an adult?

Read the section “How to increase your IQ.” There are some good recommendations there. You can improve your score if you strive to follow them.

Motivation and satisfaction.

Myth 4. Loyal employees increase motivation and efficiency.

A common misconception among some managers: loyalty affects motivation. Significant HR budgets are spent on maintaining loyalty: holding corporate events, creating comfortable offices, bonuses for the New Year and March 8th. In fact, a satisfied, loyal employee (one who is satisfied with his job at the company and has no intention of leaving) will not necessarily strive to do his job most efficiently. However, the opposite thesis is also true: the most capable and effective employees are not always loyal to the company.

One of the most significant studies of the 20th century in the field of motivation is Herzberg's two-factor model (motivation-hygiene theory). According to this concept, the factors that determine the degree of employee motivation do not coincide with the factors that lead to dissatisfaction and demotivation. Factors that contribute to high motivation are directly related to the work itself: the interesting nature and content of the work itself, the presence of professional growth, the opportunity to achieve success, recognition, and the level of responsibility. The second group of factors is external to work. These factors cannot provide an increase in motivation, but can be sources of dissatisfaction: wages, company management policies, personal relationships, status and security. The strong influence of these factors leads to demotivation and dismissal of employees.

The conclusion that comes to mind is that payment itself is not a motivating factor, but an unfair payment system can lead to demotivation. At the same time, the feeling of satisfaction that arises from an increase in salary does not last long.

A small IT company focused on working with large software development and implementation projects deliberately offers new employees a reward system consisting of a high salary without a bonus. To pass the probationary period, it is necessary to show not only a high level of qualifications, but also performance. Over time, if an employee does not grow, or, on the contrary, shows negative dynamics, he may not be hired for the next project or may be asked to return to the issue of assessing his “market value” as a specialist.

“Should we completely abandon bonuses based on results?” - the managers will ask. What has been written above does not mean that the manager should refuse to regulate remuneration; on the contrary, it is necessary to create a fair system for evaluating performance and remuneration.

Intelligence quotient: methods of determination

There are several interesting ways to determine the coefficient. These are tests. We see the following 5 as noteworthy:

Eysenck test. Allows you to determine neuropsychic lability, extraversion and introversion from the perspective of intellectual development.
Amthauer Structure of Intelligence Test. The technique is used to determine what the structure of an individual’s intellectual abilities is. Suitable for children and adults.
Raven's progressive matrices test. It is used by psychologists and not only to identify the degree of mental development, but also to assess the logical activity of individuals.
Wechsler test. Most common in English-speaking countries, it is used to study the mental sphere of people.
Bennett test. This technique for identifying mechanical intelligence is used by many Western employers to assess the qualities of potential employees.

FAQ

Below are answers to questions related to the topic discussed.

What is the difference between intellect and mind?

There are two points of view. According to the first, the concepts are identical. However, there is also an opinion according to which the mind is thinking on one plane. Intelligence is considered as a set of qualities and abilities, including thinking, memory, and imagination. We consider the first position to be correct and recommend considering the concepts without separation from each other.

How does intelligence differ from erudition?

See the answer to the previous question. In a general sense, the concepts are identical, but there is not always a fair division of “competencies”: the intellectual sphere is attributed only to information processing, and the sphere of erudition is attributed to the ability to reproduce and assimilate knowledge and skills.

What is artificial intelligence in the broad sense of the concept?

This is the “humanization” of the computer in terms of instilling in it the ability to think. That is why it is called artificial. In a general sense, AI is the ability of a computer to learn and solve problems, to act.

What is the IQ level of celebrities?

The most striking example is Bill Gates. His IQ is 180. Sergei Shnurov, for comparison, has an IQ of 135. Here's a not-so-outstanding example: according to experts, Dana Borisova has an IQ of 35. Olga Buzova “gone” a little further. Her result is 45 points.

What should be the IQ of a normal person?

The norm is considered to be 90-115 points.

What is the IQ of the smartest person?

This is mathematician Terence Tao. He works at one of the universities in the United States. Result – 230 points.