Home Psychology topics

Intelligence

teen girl solving advanced math problems at blackboard

Intelligence refers to intellectual functioning.

Intelligence quotients, or IQ tests, compare your performance with other people your age who take the same test. These tests don’t measure all kinds of intelligence, however. For example, such tests can’t identify differences in social intelligence, the expertise people bring to their interactions with others.

There are also generational differences in the population as a whole. Better nutrition, more education, and other factors have resulted in IQ improvements for each generation.

Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology

Resources from APA

Black male teacher standing in front of a class of elementary school students raising their hands

Identifying teaching behaviors that foster growth mindset classroom cultures

Learn more about the importance of “growth-signaling” behaviors in the classroom.

Brilliance and bias

The Cognitive Development Lab at New York University studies where beliefs about achievement and intelligence come from—and where they lead.

Cover of The Psychology of High Performance

Author Interview - The Psychology of High Performance

Audio interview with Rena Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, and Frank C. Worrell about their book The Psychology of High Performance.

Dassey v. Dittman

Whether a confession made by a juvenile with significant intellectual and social limitation was voluntary, and if so whether on de novo review the confession was involuntary.

More resources about intelligence