Understanding the Flaws Behind the IQ Test

IQ is one of the most widely cited and versatile tools in psychology. It aims to measure the innate intelligence of the human population.

IQ tests work by aggregating the scores from several distinct tasks into a singular number representing the person’s cognitive ability. However, the tests have many methodological flaws and do more harm than good.

One of the biggest issues with using IQ is the degree to which any test measures the construct it proclaims.

IQs construct does not exist

• in the sense used in scientific measures
• or knowing what differences on the 'inside' are being truly reflected in the scores on the 'outside.' This is simply because few agree on what happens on the 'inside.'

In job performance, the correlations in IQs are doubtful. There is little if any correlation with later job performance or other markers of success. The job performance measures that many studies rely upon are themselves not reliable.