When we look around us, we find everyone different and similar from us and one another in many aspects and what makes us unique is the way we respond to situations that we face in our day-to-day life. The way we respond is the intelligence of the person. We can u n d e r s t a n d intelligence in simple terms as follows.
· R e s p o n d i n g meaningfully to situations
· Adjust effectively to new environments
· Persons ability to develop cognition( like language, problem solving, m e m o r y , perception)
· E x p e r i e n t i a l learning from dayto

- day activities
· Ability to acquire new knowledge and abilities
· Ability to judge and evaluate
The question that each one of us faces is ‘can we know what intelligence is’? In the past, many theories have been established in understanding intelligence. The following three theories are most popular:
Spearman Theory:
Spearman basic assumption is that all mental task requires two kinds of abilities ‘G‘ and a specific ability ‘S‘. ‘G‘ is common to all intellectual tasks, whereas ‘S‘ is specific task. Consequently, there is one ‘G‘ but as many ‘S‘ as there are different intellectual tasks.
Thurston’s Theory:
According to Thurston, the following are common clusters of primary mental abilities of intelligence.
Verbal- The ability to understand and utilize verbal ideas
Numerical - The ability to carry out arithmetic operations
Spatial – The ability to understand spatial relationships and space
Perceptual- The ability to identify objects quickly and accurately
Memory- The ability to store and retrieve information
Reasoning- The ability to understand abstract information
Word Fluency- The ability to think of words quickly
Guilford Theory
Guilford proposes that there are three dimensions to intelligence, Content, Operations and Product and the combinations of all three produce unique intellectual abilities which could be used in testing intelligence.
Content dimension consist of figural, symbolic, semantic and behavioural content. Operations dimension consist of cognition, memory, logical production, creativity and evaluation. Product dimension consist of relations, systems, transformation, implication and etc.
Causes of differences in
intelligence:
There are various factors that can influence our intelligence from the time we are born.
The following are some of the factors.
· Hereditary Factors
· Home environment
· Parent-Child relationship
· Economic status
· Race and culture
· Sex differences
· Physical conditions IQ
The term IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, describes a score on a test that rates the person’s cognitive ability as compared to the general population. An IQ test consists some of these abilities like reasoning, problem-solving, perceive relationships between things, store and retrieve information, visualize manipulation of shapes, mathematical ability, use logic, ability to complete sentences or recognize words and the ability to recall.
The following are some of the popular Intelligence test that is used for different age groups:
· Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 6 – 16 years
· Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 16 – 89 years
· S t a n f o r d - B i n e t
Intelligence Scale, 2 – 85 years
· Comprehensive Test of Non-verbal Intelligence, 6 – 18 years
· Kaufman Assessment  Battery for Children, 3-18 years
· Universal Non-verbal Intelligence Test, 5 – 17 years
· Wo o d c o c k - J o h n s o n Tests of Cognitive Abilities 2 – 90 years
Stern proposed a formula that is used in calculating IQ score that is

Mental Age                                          x 100
_______________________

Chronological age (birth age)
Mental age is usually the score on the test. It is sometimes important to know your IQ score but not really essential. The advantages of knowing an IQ score are, it helps us to build confidence to take up new challenges, Boost morale, helps in improving learning ability, helps us understand if we have special needs and many times it is considered for employment and education.
Improving IQ:
There is lot of controversy around this question, can we improve intelligence? And many of the researchers say that we can improve intelligence as intelligence is abilities. Following are some of the ways to improve our intelligence:
· Creating a L e a r n i n g environment
· Exposing our self to new situations and trying novel things
· I n v o l v i n g ourselves in mental task like problem solving and puzzles
· Keeping ourselves physically fit, to improve self-confidence
· Interacting and networking with others
· Using senses (hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling) when exposed to new things for the first time.
· Always take time to reflect and provide yourself with an insight for activities
Myths and Facts about IQ
M: IQ measures individuals Intelligence
F: IQ measures individual’s capacity of intelligence
M: IQ measure individual’s competence
F: IQ measures individual’s capacity in terms of abilities
M: IQ score never changes
F: IQ score can change over age
M: IQ measures native intelligence in an individual
F: IQ measures developed skills and abilities of an individual
M: IQ score can tell the intelligence limit of an individual
F: IQ score does not tell individuals intelligence limit