After taking the Multi-dimensional IQ test, I wasn't entirely surprised with my results. Since I don't exactly think of myself as an incredibly intelligent being, not scoring in the "genius" level range came as no surprise to me. But with a score of 124 that warrants "very superior intelligence," I was slightly flattered and came to a stumbling realization that there are plenty of people far more intelligent than I; however, there are also a vast number of people on the other side of that scale. I was certainly surprised at the many challenging questions that appeared on this test, namely those requiring skill in matters of spatial perception as well as complicated questions that utilized basic math skills. Math and logic are topics I often struggle with in school, but the two combined form complex questions that make my head ache.
That along with the fact that I took this test at 7:40 in the morning in a classroom full of murmuring voices all while running on two hours of sleep certainly did not aid me in achieving a higher score. Regardless, I feel that I would perform very similarly to this first attempt even if I was fully rested and took this IQ test in a perfectly quiet room simply because of the kinds of questions I know I have difficulty answering. Although it is nice to see that I would often place in the second highest category on different tests measuring intelligence, I find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that any single test could possibly measure any individual's intelligence. For instance, I believe having strong values and possessing qualities of a good leader pertain strongly to intelligence, yet none of that was present on this test. But it's not like I was expecting this test to have all the answers to my questions so all in all, I would say this test does a relatively good job to provide an overall scope of one's "intelligence."
Photo from: http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/roj/birth%20order.jpg
I also read an article that discussed studies and causal relationships about birth order and intelligence (that can be found here). Growing up as the youngest sister and having two older ones, I've heard countless times about the stereotype that the oldest is the smartest or most successful. This article supports this statement and says that inquiry about this subject started circa 1874 by Francis Galton with his book English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture. Galton stated that eldest children often had the most access to financial resources than their following siblings and that they were treated more as equals to their parents, thus undertaking greater responsibilities. Further study on this topic was continued by Lillian Belmont and Francis Marolla in 1973. They concluded that "firstborns always scored better" on a certain test than younger siblings and that children from larger families tended to score worse on this test as well. Modern research by Blake and Downey also supports Galton's findings since subsequent siblings "reduce the share of parental resources" available to the children. Furthermore, the Confluence Model by R.B. Zajonc and Markus suggest that firstborns benefit from more adult language, having to explain things to younger siblings, not having to share their parents' attention, and having less exposure to a less mature environment as more children enter the family.
The article goes on to state that even if it is true that older sibling are more intelligent than their siblings, it really does not even matter that much since different personality traits are oftentimes more important than IQ. And even when it comes to IQ scores, there is hardly a difference since the eldest scores about one point higher than the second sibling and two points higher than the next one. Another article I found not only discusses possible reasons as to why the eldest may be the most intelligent but also states that certain situations can arise to cause the opposite result. After reading this article, I was just incredibly bemused since I am the youngest, yet I have taught and explained countless academic topics to my two elder sisters (who are five and seven years older than I). I have also scored much higher than them on the SAT and performed better than they did in school as evidenced by class ranks, GPAs, and AP test scores. But even looking past numbers, I have won various writing and speaking prizes and have proven myself to be a much better and qualified leader. So don't let yourself be tied down by precedents or a simple label, and just function as you normally would regardless of your birth order!
No comments:
Post a Comment