Test Your IQ: A Detailed Explanation of What IQ Means and How It Is Measured--Including Eight Tests You Can Take

by Hans Jürgen Eysenck and Darrin Evans

Book Overview

A detailed explanation of what IQ means and how it is measured - including eight tests you can take In Test Your IQ , Professor Hans Eysenck, the world-renowned expert on IQ testing, presents an introduction to the meaning, significance, and measurement of intelligence testing that sheds light on the controversy surrounding IQ scores. Is intelligence inherent or is it learned? Does a person's genetic makeup and ethnic origin have any significance...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140249621
• ISBN13: 9780140249620
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The book Mensa recommends

There are many IQ test books out there, but it is the IQ test books of Hans Eysenck (there are others, but this is the only one that is still in print) that the Mensa website recommends for those wishing to practice for their entrance test. I have yet to sit the Mensa exam, so cannot confirm that the questions in this book are similar to those on the exam (although, they are of the style of questions I have seen in other IQ tests), but it appears that if you are hoping to join Mensa then this is the book you should buy. Given Mensa's recommendation, I was somewhat disappointed when my copy of "Test Your IQ" finally arrived. This book contains eight standardized IQ tests, (which means that you can calculate your IQ after completing the tests, unlike some other books which just tell you whether you are average, very good, etc based on an otherwise meaningless score), and these tests cover all of the standard areas of intelligence testing: verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude and visual/spatial aptitude. However, a number of the questions are culturally biased. For example, one question involves anagrams of types of cheeses, some of which I had never heard of. I don't think my intelligence level should be assessed based on my knowledge of dairy products. This is one of the better IQ test books available, but it is still not perfect. As with any other IQ test book, this can give you an idea of your level of intelligence, but don't base any major decisions on it.

Good overall

I took all 8 of the tests and averaged the scores. They correspond to my GRE and SAT scores that I converted into IQ scores. Some of the printing on the Visual Puzzles was not clear and I could not distinguish between answer choices. Nice book, overall, though.

Fine book, but not for everyone

I would somewhat agree with the reader from Greece that this is not the best IQ book available. There are indeed better books out there.The tests are rather challenging and do seem to produce a trustworthy score for some people but they seem to reflect the form and content of IQ tests which may have been the norm a generation ago. As a result, some may find the questions culturally biased since there is a bit more emphasis on word problems than today's standardized exams but are still balanced by their share of logic and math exercises. Each test consists of 40 questions with a time limit of 30 minutes. Scores are equated to IQ ranges of 5 point increments. For example, your score may correspond to 120-125 but not a figure like 122.Throughout the first 46 pages of the book, the author outlines the developments in cognitive psychology which have transpired over the last 100 years and presents his thesis that intelligence is primarily influenced by genetic factors and that environment plays a very nominal role. That seems to be the general concensus among many researchers and Dr. Eysenck pulls no punches in dispelling any hopes of increasing inetelligence during one's lifetime. Those seeking that kind of encouragement certainly won't find it here.While I do not dispute Dr. Eysenck's credentials and expertise and believe his thesis to be sound and quite plausible, his conclusions based on his premise are sometimes bizarre, not the least of which is his insistance that programs like Head Start are a waste of time and money. He justifies this conclusion by citing the program's failure to raise IQs among inner city children in the United States but I'm not so sure that was the rationale for the program. It has been successful, however, in identifying children with high scholastic potential.In sum, the tests are helpful, and the scores I received seem to reflect similar scores I have obtained on other IQ tests. The tests are fun and in my case are fairly accurate but that may not be the case for everyone. I would recommend this book as a supplement to Alfred Munzert's book of the same title.

Very useful book

The book contains eight IQ tests. Additionally, the first part of the book discusses the following topics: What is the IQ?, IQ tests, What do IQ tests measure?, Interview or test?, The inheritance of intelligence, The biological basis of IQ, Can we increase IQ?, Different intelligences?, Education and IQ, Intelligence and creativity, The qualities of genius, and IQ and equality.Dr. Hans Eysenck is an eminent psychologist who is famous for his experimental research on personality. He has experience in creating tests, such as the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). So you will be getting a pretty trustworthy IQ score (on a 15 Standard Deviation scale, I've deduced). Many similar books only give an 'IQ score' category or description instead of an IQ score number.

It was easy to read

I thought this book was reader-friendly. It included some nice IQ tests, although you need to be at least eighteen to take them.