IQ is typically measured using tests designed to assess one or more aspects of an individual’s intelligence. These aspects may include mental abilities such as reasoning and logical thinking, visuospatial reasoning, short-term or working memory, quantitative reasoning, or verbal knowledge and reasoning.
IQ tests can be administered by computer, in pencil and paper formats, or one-on-one by a professional psychologist, and may take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to complete, depending on the types of knowledge, skills, and abilities being evaluated.
The World Wide IQ Test is administered entirely online and is currently designed to measure key aspects of an individual’s general “fluid intelligence”. Fluid Intelligence refers to a broad set of mental abilities that require little or no prior learning or experience. These include solving abstract reasoning problems or recognizing logical patterns or relations among shapes, numbers, or letters. They are so-called “fluid” abilities in the sense that they are considered to “flow into” or support a wide range of other intellectual abilities. Individuals who are high in fluid intelligence tend to perform well in academic and work environments, especially under conditions characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity, and time pressure.