Are High IQ People More Successful?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat IQ Tests MeasureHigh IQ CharacteristicsResearch on High IQ People.Personality Traits, IQ, and SuccessOutcomes for People With High IQFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What IQ Tests Measure

High IQ Characteristics

Research on High IQ People.

Personality Traits, IQ, and Success

Outcomes for People With High IQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

However, evidence suggests that having a high IQ is hardly a guarantee for financial, academic, or creative success. This article explores whether high IQ people may have an edge when it comes to success, as well as some other factors that might play a part in determining life outcomes.

What Is a Genius IQ Score?

Thevery first IQ testswere designed to identify schoolchildren in need of extra academic help. Over time, that intention changed. The tests transformed into a means to identify people who had higher-than-average intelligence.

On a standardized exam, such as the Stanford-Binet test, theaverage IQ scoreis 100. Anything above 140 is considered a high or genius-level IQ. About 2% of the population scores 130 or above.

Limitations of IQ Tests

It is important to remember that IQ testing has both limitations and biases. IQ tests only measure a specific range of mental abilities, but not all experts agree on a standard definition of intelligence.

Some tests may be more reliable than others, but it is also possible that IQ scores can change over time. Many factors can affect IQ test scores, including access to education, cultural factors, overall health, and nutrition.

The way that tests are constructed and scored can also affect scores. Some research also indicates that many IQ tests are biased against certain groups of people.

What tests often miss are other skills that contribute to intelligence, such as emotional understanding and interpersonal abilities.

Characteristics of High IQ People

Highly intelligent people are sometimes easy to recognize, but it is essential to remember that each individual is unique. Intelligence is about more than just IQ, and includes characteristics like flexibility, curiosity, and emotional understanding. A few characteristics that intelligent people may share include:

Highest IQ PeopleSome people reported to have very high IQs include:Marilyn vos Savant, a magazine columnist, with an IQ score of 228.Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, a Greek physician, with an IQ between 198 and 205.Richard G. Rosner, an American television writer, with an IQ between 192 and 198.Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess player, with an IQ of 194Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, with an IQ between 160 and 170Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, had an IQ of 160.

Highest IQ People

Some people reported to have very high IQs include:Marilyn vos Savant, a magazine columnist, with an IQ score of 228.Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, a Greek physician, with an IQ between 198 and 205.Richard G. Rosner, an American television writer, with an IQ between 192 and 198.Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess player, with an IQ of 194Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, with an IQ between 160 and 170Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, had an IQ of 160.

Some people reported to have very high IQs include:

When IQ testing was introduced, researchers examined whether higher test scores were linked to more than just doing well in school. In the early 1920s, psychologistLewis Termanbegan investigating the emotional and social development skills of kids with genius IQ scores.

He chose 1,500 children in California between the ages of eight and 12 who had an average IQ of 150. Of these, 80 had scored over 170.

Over many years, Terman tracked the children and found that most were socially and physically well-adjusted. Not only were they academically successful, but they also tended to be healthier, stronger,taller,and less accident-prone than a matched set of children with average IQs.

After Terman’s death in 1956, other psychologists decided to carry on the research, which was dubbed the Terman Study of the Gifted. The study continues to this day and is the longest-runninglongitudinal studyin history.

Intelligence and Achievement

So how did Terman’s original participants turn out? When looking at the group as a whole after 35 years of study, Terman reported:

Still, Terman noted that most pursued more humble occupations, including police officers, sailors, typists and filing clerks. He ultimately concluded that “intelligence and achievement were far from perfectly correlated.”

What Do IQ Test Scores Mean?

Criticisms of the Terman Study

While such findings are compelling, Terman’s results are often criticized for excluding factors that may have contributed to a person’s success or failure.

Researcher Melita Oden, who carried on Terman’s research after his death, decided to compare the 100 most successful subjects from the study (Group A) to the 100 least successful (Group C). While they essentially had the same IQ levels, those in Group C only earned slightly above the average income of the time and had higher rates of alcoholism and divorce than individuals in Group A.

Those in Group A tended to exhibit characteristics such as:

Furthermore, as adults, they exhibited three key traits not seen in most Group C subjects: goal-orientation, self-confidence, and perseverance. This suggests that, while IQ can play a role in life success,personality traitsremain the determining feature in realizing that success.

A 2016 study supports this conclusion, noting that grades and achievement tests are generally better predictors of life outcomes than IQ tests because they can better measure personality traits that also predict success.

While a high IQ can’t predict success in life, it does reliably predict academic success in school. Research also suggests that high IQ people tend to be more successful at work.

However, in some cases, it may just be the opposite. Some studies have suggested that children with exceptional intelligence may be more prone to depression and social isolation than less-gifted peers.They may need support in these and other areas to perform well at school and work.

Openness to Experience

Research has also found that high IQ people were more likely to smoke marijuana and use illegal drugs.A personality trait known asopenness to experiencemight help explain this connection. This trait is one of the key personality dimensions described in thebig 5 theory of personality.

Openness is a trait that essentially removes unconscious barriers that would otherwise prevent a person from experiences considered socially unacceptable. Moreover, it is moderately associated with creativity, intelligence, and knowledge.

So more intelligent people may be more open to unpopular or unconventional experiences. That could lead them to innovation and success, but it might also lead to riskier behaviors such as substance use.

Emotional Intelligence

General, or cognitive, intelligence is what IQ tests measure. But another indicator of success may beemotional intelligence, or EQ. This is the ability to express and control your emotions—but also to perceive, evaluate, and react to the emotions of others. People with high EQ are often quite successful in careers and relationships, regardless of their IQ.

IQ vs. EQ: How Are They Different?

A Word From Verywell

While researchers continue to debate Terman’s research, most are in agreement about the key finding. While intelligence (or more specifically, an IQ score) may suggest a potential for success, it doesn’t guarantee an outcome. Fulfilling that potential requires skills, traits, and support that IQ tests alone can’t measure.

Your score on an IQ test can be an interesting way to learn more about some of your cognitive abilities, but it is essential to remember that such tests have significant limitations. And as the research has shown, IQ may predict academic success, but it doesn’t necessarily correlate to other life outcomes.

Frequently Asked QuestionsThe evidence is mixed on whether high IQ people struggle in life. Some do and some don’t. Researchers have found that people with high IQ often succeed in school and work.But some studies have found an association between high IQ and mental health conditions such as depression.In Lewis Terman’s study of children with high IQ, the subjects had a range of careers when they became adults. from filing clerks to doctors.Mensa, an organization for people with high IQ (membership is reserved for people who have scored in the top 2% of a recognized intelligence test), states that its members include police officers, professors, truck drivers, military personnel, doctors, farmers, and government officials, among other occupations.High IQ people are likely to be flexible, curious, and open-minded. But because personality traits can vary widely among people with high IQ, there aren’t necessarily clear outward signs that indicate that someone has high IQ. They may or may not be academically successful, choose a high-achieving career, or know a lot of facts and figures.

The evidence is mixed on whether high IQ people struggle in life. Some do and some don’t. Researchers have found that people with high IQ often succeed in school and work.But some studies have found an association between high IQ and mental health conditions such as depression.

In Lewis Terman’s study of children with high IQ, the subjects had a range of careers when they became adults. from filing clerks to doctors.Mensa, an organization for people with high IQ (membership is reserved for people who have scored in the top 2% of a recognized intelligence test), states that its members include police officers, professors, truck drivers, military personnel, doctors, farmers, and government officials, among other occupations.

High IQ people are likely to be flexible, curious, and open-minded. But because personality traits can vary widely among people with high IQ, there aren’t necessarily clear outward signs that indicate that someone has high IQ. They may or may not be academically successful, choose a high-achieving career, or know a lot of facts and figures.

15 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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