90 PRETEND INTELLIGENCENote that similar claims have been made about correlations between
IQ and training success in vari ous occupations. But they are subject to
the same objections as those for job per for mance: the raw correlations are
very low (around 0.2), which are doubled or more in the meta- analyses
through estimated corrections. Th e most quoted results are from training
military personnel, while all meta- analyses include dozens of diff er ent
tests of varying psychometric standards and many very old studies,
some dating as far back as the 1920s.
In contrast to such questionable validity studies are a variety of others
of real cognition in real working situations. Th ey have shown that
IQ- type test scores have little if any correlation with per for mances on
the kinds of tasks individuals regularly encounter in their jobs. Robert
Sternberg and colleagues found such null results in studies of man ag ers,
salespersons, and university professors. Th ere are many such reports. If
there is one area where one would expect a relation between IQ and job
per for mance, it would surely be medicine. But a recent study reported in
the journal BMC Medicine showed no predictive eff ect of IQ on clinical
per for mance (e.g., promotion to se nior doctor).^19
Th is could also explain why members of high- IQ socie ties like Mensa are
not overrepresented in the most demanding jobs. As one member put it
(Guardian Weekend, April 25, 2015), “I’m almost certainly smarter than
you.... It’s a fact... I know what my IQ is (164).” But, she goes on, “I’ve
never held a high- powered job. I don’t have a string of qualifi cations. I don’t
do terribly clever things... I’ve stayed gainfully employed, but I wouldn’t
say I’ve done anything remarkable in any job.” And then she concludes,
“Mensa... is an organisation for the smart- ass rather than the wise!”
So the question of what IQ tests really test remains hotly debated.
Let us examine a few alternative possibilities.
Differences in Basic Neural Pro cesses?
As mentioned earlier, Galton viewed human mental ability diff erences in
terms of mental speed. He included reaction time (RT) items in his tests,
as did some of his followers. Although they yielded nothing of interest
( people from diff er ent social classes performed much the same on aver-
age), the idea has been recently revived. Th is time the aim has been to seeThis content downloaded from 139.184.14.159 on Tue, 17 Oct 2017 13:52:12 UTChttp://www.ebook3000.com