General Psychology

Some Fun Facts about IQ and the Brain:

 Studies have shown that children who are breast fed display IQ's up to 10 points
higher by the age of three.

 Your brain is full of nerve cells, but it has no pain receptors. Doctors can operate on
your brain while you're awake and you won't feel a thing.

 The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body, and the left side of
your brain controls the right side of your body.

 Your brain weight accounts for about 2 percent of your body weight. But your brain
uses 20 percent of your body's oxygen supply and 20 to 30 percent of your body's
energy.

 When you are born, your brain weighs about a pound. But by age 6, it weighs three
pounds. What happens? Learning to stand, talk, and walk creates a web of
connections in your head—two pounds worth!

 People with lower IQ are at greater risk of being concussed. A Danish study looked
at 520 men who had sustained concussion after having their IQs tested by the
national draft board. 30.4 percent of the concussed men had had dysfunctional
scores. Experts decided lower IQ is a risk factor.

 An analysis of 1 million students in a New York school district showed that school
cafeteria food affected IQ scores to an astonishing degree. When preservatives,
coloring, dyes and artificial flavors were removed from the cafeteria menu
researchers found that 70,000 students performed two or more IQ grade levels
higher than before.

 Social class is just one of many factors, both environmental and genetic, that may
impact on a child's IQ. Others can include: diet, birth weight, parental IQ and even
if the child gets hugged a lot!

 IQ tests can’t measure all forms of intelligence. It’s widely agreed that
standardized tests can’t measure all forms of intelligence including creativity,
wisdom, practical sense and social sensitivity.

 Some researchers say that IQ - a predictor of income - is partly inherited.

Researchers compared the incomes of fathers and sons and found if you were in

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General Psychology

the bottom five percent of society you had a one in 20 chance or less of getting to
the top.

 IQ is not influenced by family size or birth order. There is some confusion on this
matter due to the fact that smart families usually have few children. However
there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that you will have a low IQ if you belong
to a large family. There is also no evidence that the first born child will be more
intelligent than the rest.

 In the USSR even mentioning IQ was a punishable act.

 Feeling rejected has an effect on your IQ score. Ohio researchers claim IQ can
plummet by 25 percent after being rejected. It's harder to think straight after
rejection.

 Certain smells may improve your ability to pass exams. British research indicates
students revising for exams could use scent to improve their marks, but also that
smells associated with failure can worsen results. The smell of rosemary is also said
to enhance mental performance.

 In 1984 the political scientist James Flynn reported that Americans had gained
about 13.8 IQ points in 46 years. If people taking an IQ test today were scored in
the same way as people 50 years ago then 90% of them would be classified in the
genius level.

 Studies show that IQ is modestly related to the speed at which you do some pretty
simple things such as comparing two lines to see which is longer.

 Wine drinkers on average have a higher IQ than beer drinkers. Studies show a
slight advantage to wine drinkers — but do wine drinkers have higher IQs because
they drink wine or vice-versa ? It may be that some people with high IQ reach a
high social status and then choose to drink wine to fit in.

 Modern neuro-imaging techniques show that to some degree brain size is correlated
to IQ.

 IQ has been shown to increase with more schooling, better educated parents and
better toys.

 A higher IQ employee will be more productive than a lower IQ employee even after
years on the same job.