Henry Goddard, who popularized IQ testing in the US, perhaps did more than any other individual to convince the general public that IQ scores were static and genetically determined. Goddard even went so far as to recommend segregating those with low IQ scores from the rest of society. His thoughts and actions would have horrified Alfred Binet, the French psychologist who invented IQ testing and who firmly believed in the concept of human individuality and potential. Binet described the idea of unalterable intelligence as "brutal pessimism."
For several generations it's been commonly believed that our childhood IQ remains more or less stable throughout life. But the science on the matter contradicts this belief, disproving Goddard's prejudice. Whereas some degree of intelligence derives from inheritance, a large part is shaped and developed through our environment and formative experience.
The research then supports the idea that we could take steps to change our intelligence. However, despite many attempts, until recently no one had been able to devise a method for doing so in a measurable and reliable way.
Brain Training That Makes You Smarter
Two capabilities comprise our measured intelligence: crystallized intelligence, or what we know, and fluid intelligence - our ability to solve novel problems. In 2007, Graeme Halford (Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland) proposed that both fluid intelligence and working-memory place demands on the brain's processing capacity. In other words, when we're trying to figure something out at the same time as holding information in our mind, the two tasks compete for brain power.
A team of researchers from the Universities of Michigan and Bern picked up on Halford's theory and took it a step further. If working-memory can be increased by training, they posited, perhaps this would lead to an increase in fluid intelligence. To test this idea, the scientists developed a task that would develop a subject's working-memory.
Using questions from a standard IQ test and comparing to a control group who weren't trained, the study showed that fluid intelligence did increase with working-memory training. Moreover, the increases were considerable. With just 19 days of training, all participants in the trained group recorded increases over and above the control group of more than 40%.
The team published its results in April of this year, engendering a good deal of attention. Not surprisingly, many people who read about the study wanted to try the training for themselves. (In the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that I was one of those people; my company launched a commercial version of the working-memory training back in June. I've experienced myself and heard from many customers that the training works just as well outside the lab. We've even had people increase IQ scores on full-scale moderated tests - a finding that the researchers hesitated to predict.)
Finally then we can relegate the concept of fixed IQ to the scrap-heap of mistaken ideas. Alfred Binet would appreciate this advance, I bet, although he might wonder why it took so long for us to get here. - 16928
For several generations it's been commonly believed that our childhood IQ remains more or less stable throughout life. But the science on the matter contradicts this belief, disproving Goddard's prejudice. Whereas some degree of intelligence derives from inheritance, a large part is shaped and developed through our environment and formative experience.
The research then supports the idea that we could take steps to change our intelligence. However, despite many attempts, until recently no one had been able to devise a method for doing so in a measurable and reliable way.
Brain Training That Makes You Smarter
Two capabilities comprise our measured intelligence: crystallized intelligence, or what we know, and fluid intelligence - our ability to solve novel problems. In 2007, Graeme Halford (Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland) proposed that both fluid intelligence and working-memory place demands on the brain's processing capacity. In other words, when we're trying to figure something out at the same time as holding information in our mind, the two tasks compete for brain power.
A team of researchers from the Universities of Michigan and Bern picked up on Halford's theory and took it a step further. If working-memory can be increased by training, they posited, perhaps this would lead to an increase in fluid intelligence. To test this idea, the scientists developed a task that would develop a subject's working-memory.
Using questions from a standard IQ test and comparing to a control group who weren't trained, the study showed that fluid intelligence did increase with working-memory training. Moreover, the increases were considerable. With just 19 days of training, all participants in the trained group recorded increases over and above the control group of more than 40%.
The team published its results in April of this year, engendering a good deal of attention. Not surprisingly, many people who read about the study wanted to try the training for themselves. (In the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that I was one of those people; my company launched a commercial version of the working-memory training back in June. I've experienced myself and heard from many customers that the training works just as well outside the lab. We've even had people increase IQ scores on full-scale moderated tests - a finding that the researchers hesitated to predict.)
Finally then we can relegate the concept of fixed IQ to the scrap-heap of mistaken ideas. Alfred Binet would appreciate this advance, I bet, although he might wonder why it took so long for us to get here. - 16928
About the Author:
Learn more: increasing fluid intelligence by training working-memory. Martin Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. Mind Evolve, LLC publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training, as well as effective, affordable brain fitness software under the Mind Sparke brand.
No comments:
Post a Comment