misconception/reality

Question 1

Misconception:
IQ tests measure mental ability in a truly general sense.

Answer 1

Reality:
IQ tests are characterized as measures of general mental ability, and the public has come to believe that IQ tests measure mental ability in a truly broad sense. In reality, however, IQ tests have always focused only on the abstract reasoning and verbal fluency that are essential to academic success. The tests do not tap social competence, practical problem solving, creativity, mechanical ingenuity, or artistic talent.

Question 2

Misconception:
Intelligence is a fixed, unchangeable trait, as IQ scores rarely change over time.

Answer 2

Reality:
Intelligence is a fairly stable trait, but it definitely is not fixed. IQ scores merely indicate people’s relative standing on a specific test at a specific age. This relative standing could improve or decline depending on people’s circumstances. Some people experience significant changes in measured intelligence.

Question 3

Misconception:
Most people who have intellectual disability are severely disabled.

Answer 3

Reality:
When people think about intellectual disability, their prototype for this condition is a severely disabled person who looks different and requires institutionalization. Working from this prototype, people assume that severe challenge is the most typical form of intellectual disability. In reality, it is the rarest form of intellectual disability. The vast majority (85 percent) of people with intellectual disability manifest mild disability.

Question 4

Misconception:
Gifted children tend to be frail, socially unskilled introverts with emotional problems.

Answer 4

Reality:
This belief may have some validity for a small subset of gifted children who are profoundly talented. But when studies focus on high-IQ children as a whole, they find above-average physical, social, and emotional development. For the most part, the stereotype of gifted children as frail and introverted is an inaccurate one.