Types of Intelligence Tests

IQ tests measure general intelligence (G) levels. IQ tests are administered by school districts (e.g. the Cognitive Abilities Test), private psychologists, the military (e.g. Army GCT) and human resource departments (e.g. the Wonderlic).

There are two broad types of intelligence test:

‘Culture-fair’ tests of fluid intelligence (Gf), which is our ability to reason and problem solve, independently of training and practice. IQ Mindware apps are designed to increase Gf specifically.
‘Full-scale’ IQ tests, made up of subtests for all five factors of IQ – fluid intelligence (Gf) as well as (typically) vocabulary and general knowledge, visuospatial ability, working memory, and processing speed. Sometimes quantitative/mathematical reasoning is also tested in full-scale tests. IQ Mindware apps are designed to improve fluid intelligence and working memory subtest scores of full-scale IQ tests.

Very popular among standardized intelligence tests are the following:

Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test (fluid intelligence test)
Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices Test (fluid intelligence test)
Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test (fluid intelligence test)
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (full-scale test)
Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test (full-scale test)

Mensa accepts scores from approximately 200 different standardized intelligence tests (click for qualifying test information here). For more information on Mensa requirements click here.

Raven’s tests are popular career / job aptitude tests. As described by the publishers of the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices Test:

The APM score can be used as an indication of a candidate’s potential for success in high-level technical, professional, and executive positions that require high levels of clear and accurate thinking, problem identification, holistic situation assessment, and monitoring of tentative solutions for consistency with all available information. The APM score also can be used for developmental purposes in occupational and advanced educational settings. The nonverbal aspect of the test minimizes the impact of cultural or language bias.

Fluid Intelligence (Gf) IQ Tests (Culture Fair): IQ Increase Guarantee

You can take either of the Danish Mensa or Norwegian Mensa tests before and after your IQ Mindware training. This will give you an independent measure of your IQ gain which is expected to be 10-20 points.

Here is an example question. You must select the option that is most logical (2).

For the IQ increase guarantee, you can choose any 2 of the following 3 tests for before and after training testing.

Danish Mensa IQ test

This non-verbal IQ test is based on the well-known Raven’s Progressive Matrices and measures your fluid intelligence directly. It also provides a good measure of your general intelligence. The IQ test is culture fair – eliminating the effect of cultural factors such as vocabulary, mathematics and general knowledge. The calculation of IQ is based on answers from more than 250,000 people. The test is based on seeing relationships in abstract geometrical shapes. It is an excellent measure of fluid intelligence.

Time required: 40 minutes time limit
Components of intelligence measured: fluid intelligence
Culture fair IQ test? Yes
Repeat testing? No
Fee: No charge

Note: The timer starts when you click the button, so be prepared!

Mensa Norway IQ Test

This non-verbal IQ test assesses your fluid intelligence and general intelligence through culture fair nonverbal questions.

in this test you must click the alternative that is most logical. Have a look at the example before beginning.

If you don’t know the answer, please note that you don’t lose points for wrong answers. Therefore, it can be a good idea to guess.

Don’t start the test before you are ready and have 25 minutes available.

Time required: 25 minutes.
Components of intelligence measured: fluid intelligence
Culture fair IQ test? Yes
Repeat testing? No
Fee: No charge
Special information: To get your test and IQ scores you need to click on the link at the bottom of the test.

The Serebriakoff Advanced Culture Fair Test (SACF)

This non-verbal IQ test assesses your fluid intelligence and general intelligence through culture fair nonverbal questions.

To complete this test you will need pen and paper (or a printer) as well as access to your computer. You first need to print out or jot down the answer page before you work through the problems.

Time required: No time limit – 36 item test.
Components of intelligence measured: fluid intelligence
Culture fair IQ test? Yes
Repeat testing? No
Fee: No charge

Special information: To get your test and IQ scores you need to click on the link at the bottom of the test.

Professional IQ Tests

Professionally administered IQ tests (e.g. WAIS-IV or Cattell III B) give you an accurate measure of your IQ level. They are typically administered by a certified psychologist, educationalist or clinician. They cost to you will be in the region of $300-$500 for an assessment. The test kits can be purchased independently – at a high cost: $1,110.00 for the test battery (link).

A cost-effective method of measuring your true IQ level is to take a Mensa Supervised Test. Mensa offers supervised IQ tests ( $40.00 in the US / £17.50 in the UK). This fee includes:

A reserved place at the centre of your choice.
The opportunity to take two IQ test papers. The Cattell III B and the Cattell Culture Fair III A.
The marking of your IQ test papers and your results returned to you in confidence.

Mensa Supervised test sessions are held at centres throughout your home country.Click here for details from International Mensa. For those in the US click here. For those in the UK click here.

Performance on Mensa admissions tests can be improved with IQ training.

Low Cost Online IQ Tests

There are many so-called ‘IQ tests’ online. The vast majority these or more are not scientifically valid or standardized. They may be fun, they may even be good for training purposes, but they are worthless as a measure of your true IQ.

IQ-Brain

IQ-Brain.com offers 3 realistic fluid IQ tests based on Cattell, RPM and the Mensa-administered Figure Reasoning Test (FRT). The IQ score estimates are comparable what users have been able to achieve on proctor-administered tests. The tests have a similar number of questions and time pressure as both FRT and the Cattell culture fair IIIa tests which are often administered by Mensa to test fluid intelligence. This test-developer recruited a cohort of test takers from all walks of life, but more importantly several test takers who had ‎taken a Mensa-administered IQ test. The test developer calibrated the test to ensure that the raw score required to achieve a passing score of 132 was in line with the Mensa threshold of difficulty. The test developer believes that if you can achieve an IQ score of 132 on his tests, that you stand a good chance of achieving a similar result with a Mensa-administered test. You could opt to take 1 of these tests before IQ Mindware training and one after.

At a recent check, the cost of 1 test result is $9.00, 2 test results for $12.00 and 3 test results for $15.00. The tests measure IQs up to 148.

Take the matrices IQ test number 1

The GIQ ‘Full Scale’ Test

The GIQ test will give you a valid estimate of your IQ. This is a good general IQ test, combining non-verbal (spatial) and verbal problems, providing a valid measure of your full-scale IQ.

The fee is only $10.

According to the test-makers:

The GIQ Test is an online analog for the most common clinically proctored IQ tests. In our internal study, the GIQ Test correlated within about 4% of an individual’s full-scale score on a clinically proctored IQ test. The GIQ Test’s sections are modeled after clinical IQ test sections.

The GIQ has the following features

Time required: 25-45 minutes estimated. No time limit.
Components of intelligence measured: full-scale intelligence, ‘verbal’, ‘spatial’ and ‘quantitative’ intelligence. Your performance sub-score on this test can substitute as a measure of your fluid intelligence.
Culture fair IQ test? No. Vocabulary, similarities and arithmetic subtests are culture-dependent.
Repeat testing: No
Fee: $10

Take the IQ Test

Pre- and Post-Training IQ Tests