Many of us are familiar with the idea that as we get older, we become less mentally agile; but is this something that can be measured – does our IQ decrease with age?
What speed does it go? Does intelligence change at different rates for different types?
Metafact interviewed five experts in intelligence and behavior sciences to answer these questions.Is IQ decreasing with age?‘. Here’s what they said…
What is IQ? How can it be measured?
“Intelligence can be measured using a series of tests. For example, one test measures language skills and another about non-verbal skills like solving puzzles. Another test measures how fast you can complete a task. SaysMichael Thomas is a Birkbeck University expert in neuroscience and psychology.
“Your intelligence will be the sum of your scores on these tasks compared to how smart other people are.”
IQ testsAssess Different abilitiesThis includes your memory and learning ability, visual-spatial processing, and abstract reasoning.
IQ stands to represent “Intelligible Knowledge”intelligence quotient‘ and is a score that is standardised relative to other people your own age.
Your IQ score will be 100 if your intelligence is above average for your age. It will be higher than average if it is over 100 and lower than average if it is below 100.
How does an individual’s intelligence change as they age?
The intelligence of an individual doesn’t change with their age.
This means that if you take an IQ test in the present and another in 10 years, your IQ score is likely to be very similar. This is because IQ measures how well you compare to other people your own age.
“IQs are always calculated in relation to an individual’s age, regardless of whether it is 10, 15, 25, 50 or 72. 25-yearolds can be compared with 25-years-olds on the number of items they correctly answer to any given task. 50 year-olds can also be compared with 50-years-olds. explainsAlan Kaufman is an intelligence test expert from Yale University, the US.
“The average or median IQ of every age group is 100. We can’t directly compare the mean IQs across the adult age range because – by definition – every group will average 100.”
Meiran Nachshon is a psychologist from Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
“IQ” is the relative position of an individual in relation to the average. This relative positioning is very stable.
He cites a number of examples to support his assertion. PublicationThe study showed a strong correlation in IQ between people over the age of 11 and those over 90.
Is there a change in the average IQ of the population with increasing age?
It is necessary to be capable of comparing the IQs of older and younger people in order to determine how their IQs have changed over time.
Because of the above reasons, this is often not possible. Instead, a different method must be used.
Kaufman explainsThis is how it works
“We must first find a common yardstick to compare adults. You can compare 70-years olds with 60-years olds, 60 year-olds with 50 year-olds with 40-years olds, and so on. to the norms (reference groups or standards) for young adults.
“In my research, we define young adults as about age 30 (usually ages 25–34). Because of this, young adults will have an IQ average of 100. If we compare the IQ of adults throughout their lives to young adults, we can see how it changes as we age.”
Kaufman SaysWhen these tests are completed, “[a] clear decline [in IQ]It is obvious.”
All types of intelligence are not at the same level.
IQ tests assess intelligence in many areas and group them together.
“Global IQ is an amalgam of different kinds of intelligence, the most popularly studied being fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence which together – along with abilities called working memory and processing speed – are combined to yield global or Full Scale IQ,” Kaufman says.
“Fluid intelligence and fluid reasoning reflect the ability to solve new problems, the type that aren’t taught at school,” he stated. This explainsCrystallized intelligence, or crystallized knowledge, measures learning and problem solving. These are directly related to education and acculturation.
As you age, these different intelligence types will show different patterns.
Crystallized intelligence “averages 98 at ages 20–24, rises to 101 by ages 35–44, before declining to 100 (ages 45–54), then 98 (55–64), then 96 (65–69), then 93 (70–74), and 88 (75+),” Says Kaufman.
Fluid intelligence is much less efficient. Kaufman reveals that it “peaks at ages 20–24 (100), drops gradually to 99 (25–34) and 96 (35–44) before starting a rollercoaster plunge to 91 (45–54), 86 (55–64), 83 (65–69), 79 (70–74), and 72 (75+).”
Thomas says:“Your mid-twenties will have the fastest response time, but your vocabulary knowledge will grow throughout your life as long you don’t get dementia.
“In your late sixties, cognitive skills that depend on what you’ve learned (so-called crystalized information) can either improve or be quite resilient. You may lose the ability to do certain things at a rapid pace.
Here’s the takeaway:
While your individual intelligence will not decline with age, our average intelligence does decrease as we age.
All facts are yours!
Expert answers to this question – Article Is IQ decreasing with age?
This expert response was published by an independent fact-checking platform Metafact.io. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter Here.
