The idea of discussing the mental abilities inherent in a person often irritates people, sometimes even causes a feeling of resentment. This is due to the misperception of the subject. Scientists have vast information about individual differences and abilities. They perfectly understand where they come from. And they know very well how to develop intelligence. However, this information rarely gets into the press. Basically, the reader is provided with a comparison of people by nationality, race, gender. And of course, the author tries his best to avoid discrimination. This is what irritates people.
Intelligence research draws a negative reputation from the past. They owe this to early work in this area. Indeed, in ancient works they tried to prove that a certain group of people is superior to others and deserves exceptionally special treatment. Today's works are aimed at the development of all people, regardless of the intellectual level. The use of such techniques allows achieving excellent results.
We define goals
How to develop intelligence? This question worries every person from time to time. And since interest in the topic is massive, it means that there are a lot of answers. The desire to become smart is a very voluminous concept. And if you are ready to seriously take up the development of intelligence, then first determine the goals. After all, it is impossible to strive for what you do not clearly see ahead.
Imagine a mentally intelligent person. What is he? For example, this is a person who freely communicates on topics in which others understand little. Or your imagination slipped you a personality that easily solves any TV quizzes and crossword puzzles. Or maybe you consider knowledge in stock strategies or aircraft design to be the pinnacle of mental activity? It is necessary to develop intelligence for specific goals. By honestly answering the question, you will determine the task to which, in fact, you are striving.
Choosing strategies
Before throwing all your strength into the development of intelligence, analyze your abilities. If from the very childhood mathematics caused you a persistent disgust, then is it worth it to study number theory? Or memorize Gumilyov's poems, even if Pushkin once caused a headache? Naturally, with patience, you can achieve good results in any field. But if you direct your efforts to development in your favorite business, then an excellent result will be given much easier and with little bloodshed.
The desire to impress others with smart conversations is very easy to realize. It makes sense to start reading. Books that develop intelligence will tell you how to interest the listener, how to conduct conversations correctly. A little secret - read the literature on the topics that are most often raised in your environment. This will allow you to insert from time to time interesting information and facts gleaned from books. It is only very important to really understand the literature you read so as not to get into an awkward position.
Sometimes, wondering how to develop intelligence, people pursue the goal of becoming rich. It's time to stop and analyze the situation. Are all rich people smart? No. Do all smart people necessarily become rich? Again no. Then, if the goal is wealth, it is necessary to reconsider the strategy for achieving it.
The desire to become an intellectual designer implies concrete steps. Simply put, you should develop your abilities in this area in order to become a competent specialist. Take a closer look at authoritative individuals who have achieved considerable results. Read the same books they studied. When you start moving in this direction, the vector of further development will take on clearer forms.
How to define intelligence?
To tell the truth, there is no exact methodology that allows you to determine IQ. The most commonly used test for intelligence, the author of which is Eysenck. However, this technique, even without looking at its popularity, loses somewhat to others. The tests of R. Amthauer, D. Raven, D. Wexler, R. B. Cattell are more accurate. Therefore, to determine your level of intelligence, you need to apply several of them, and possibly all. Only then will the resulting score more accurately correspond to your mental abilities.
Remember that any technique determines the IQ relative to the mental development of the "average" person in accordance with age. And yet, most people rightly believe that the perfect intelligence test has not yet been found. After all, any technique shows only the level of knowledge and awareness.
Eysenck test results
Most of the methods have a very strong influence on the attitude towards the subject in the future. So, a high IQ will allow the child to get into a prestigious class in which education is built on a complex program. In the US, people are hired based on their IQ test scores. In the modern world, a lot of attention is paid to such techniques, although not a single creator can vouch for a 100% result.
Hans Jörgen Eysenck introduced a scale from 0 to 160 for his test. The normal IQ of an average person was taken as 100 points. Therefore, to test mental abilities means to compare yourself with others.
The largest category of the population (50%) has an IQ in the range of 90-110 points. It is this audience that needs constant development of the mind in order to raise its level. Excellent intelligence - more than 110 points - 25% of people have. Unfortunately, the remaining 25% have an IQ level of less than 90. It should be noted that only 0.5% of the population has high intelligence - results that start from 140 points. People whose level of development does not reach 70, as a rule, have mental retardation.
Emotional intellect
Such a concept arose in psychology quite recently. But interest in it is quite high. What is emotional intelligence (EQ)? This is the ability to understand one's own and other people's emotions and feelings, to feel them, to convey to people, to manage them. Awareness of all this lays the foundation for successful interaction with other personalities.
Numerous studies by theorists and practitioners of psychology prove that the level of a person's achievements is determined to a greater extent by emotional abilities than by a classic IQ test. Thus, the concept of “being smart” has been transformed. Today it is the ability to understand one's own and other people's feelings and, of course, control one's own.
- Expression of emotions and accuracy of assessment. It is necessary to understand the feelings, both your own and those of others, regardless of whether they are associated with internal or external events. In other words, it is an opportunity to determine any emotions by appearance, physical condition, thoughts, behavior. The ability to accurately express all your feelings and articulate the needs associated with them.
- The use of emotions in mental activity. How a person feels depends on what and how he thinks. It is no secret that emotions quite strongly influence the entire process of thinking and prepare the individual for subsequent actions. This ability allows you to learn to think more effectively. Having figured out how to manage feelings, a person can look at the world from completely different angles, and therefore, it is much better to solve the problems that have arisen.
- Understanding emotions. This is a person's perception of the source of feelings that arise, the ability to classify them, to determine the connection between them and words. Ability to understand complex manifestations and predict their further development.
- Emotion management. All feelings affect thinking. That is why it is important to take them into account in making decisions, various tasks, in choosing behavior. The ability to manage emotions will allow you to evoke the necessary feelings, if necessary, or completely move away from them.
Methods for developing emotional intelligence
It is believed that a person who has achieved high results in this area increases his efficiency several times in various social areas. At the same time, it acquires the ability to feel happy.
The opinions of psychologists who study emotional intelligence are different. How to develop what is inherent in nature? Some people think it's impossible. Others hold a different point of view, and even developed a corresponding methodology.
To form the ability to recognize and evaluate emotions, it is necessary to identify them from time to time. "What am I feeling at the moment?" - such a question will help to learn understanding. Evaluate the basic concepts: sadness, joy, fear, anger. It is with them that you need to start.
Try to identify the source and intensity of the emotion you are experiencing. To do this, come up with a scale from 0 to 10. If the control over the feeling did not require much effort, this is 0. And the uncontrolled emotion is 10. Such a scale will tell you all the nuances of your feelings. Over time, you will be able to reduce your attitude towards negative emotions to the desired level.
The next step should be to expand the range. Formulate your own ABC of emotions. According to her, try to determine the emotional state of the people around you.
When you do anything, try to be aware of what you are experiencing. Learn to express your feelings, translate emotions into words. Remember that most relationships broke down from misunderstanding and understatement.
Music influence
Pleasant melodic sounds can not only be enjoyed. Music and intelligence are strongly interconnected. With it, you can significantly increase the efficiency of work.
We are not talking about people who understand complex musical forms, and therefore have a high level of intelligence. The melody has an amazing effect on any person. It is noticed that music lovers increase concentration, memory improves, attention develops. It should be noted that such processes are quickly consolidated and are long-term.
While listening to music, synchronous work of both hemispheres of the brain is noted. This increases its potential several times, therefore, mental activity is more productive. Scientists have proven that the synchronization of the work of the right and left hemispheres is the first step on the path to genius. At the same time, it was music that played the leading role.
It should be noted that not every melody develops a person's intellect. Bulgarian scholars recommend listening to masterpieces dating back to the 17th-18th century, written by composers who worked in the Baroque and early Classical styles. It turns out that this music, written several centuries ago, still has the most powerful effect on memory and reason. The secret is that when writing their works, the masters used certain formulas that were passed down from generation to generation by ancient music schools.
Mozart's masterpieces with their unexpected overflows, transitions, overflowing of sounds, with their richness of various nuances are sustained in a 30-second "loud-quiet" rhythm. This fully corresponds to the biocurrents of the brain. Such music literally pours energy into the body. Thus, doing any business with melodic accompaniment of the immortal creations of Vivaldi and Mozart will greatly increase the efficiency of work. After all, it is not for nothing that scientists call individual fragments the music of the intellect.
Particular attention should be paid to the enemy of reason. Unfortunately, pop music dominates. You can't do any vocal music. Even when it comes to opera. The effect of voice on a person has the exact opposite result. The level of employment is dropping sharply. Modern trends, such as rave, techno, metal, house, do not contribute to the development of intelligence at all.
Surprisingly, regular listening to jazz and classical without any effort in two months can develop intelligence to a fairly decent degree. This is something to seriously think about.
Logic games
How to develop intelligence? Start playing games. First of all, it is, of course, chess. They are considered the best game for the development of intelligence, since they require a lot of concentration, logical analysis and calculations. At the same time, not only mental activity begins to be stimulated, a person develops intuitive thinking. If you're not a chess fan, look for other mind games. It can be: billiards, Rubik's cube, tic-tac-toe, mahjong. Perfect for this purpose is solving puzzles. Moreover, they can be anything: verbal, semantic, drawn or mathematical.
Reading Literature
This is perhaps the most accessible and powerful method of developing intelligence. As noted earlier, if you want to thoroughly understand one issue, study the literature on it. Start with textbooks, various manuals, brochures.
If you have more global goals - make it a rule to read every day. Books that develop intelligence and thinking will not allow the brain to “relax”. In addition, a person who reads a lot never experiences difficulties in communication. He always knows what to say to his interlocutor.
Information analysis
Ideas that arise in the head can be generated in the brain. It is much better to write down such thoughts. Learn to reflect in writing. As a rule, the recording of each subsequent step will begin on a piece of paper. And this process allows you to activate several parts of the brain at once. It is noticed that at this time the concentration increases almost three times. Thanks to this, the analysis of the situation becomes much deeper. Therefore, you save yourself the possibility of making the wrong decision.
Time relax
It is quite difficult to develop intelligence if you constantly want to sleep. Take the necessary time to rest. It is no secret that it is difficult to concentrate on an important matter if attention is scattered and inward. Studies have confirmed that fatigue lowers IQ by several points. That is why, in order to maximize mental faculties, you need to get enough sleep. Start going to bed on time. And the results will surprise you within a week.
Instead of a conclusion
If you are thinking about how to develop intelligence, strive to increase IQ, first awaken in your mind a thirst for knowledge. Try to constantly develop the brain, think a lot and learn to philosophize. Activate your curiosity and be ready to find answers to most questions on your own. Remember that a sharp mind is the path to wealth, harmony with others and with yourself, understanding the meaning of life.
The level of intelligence is usually understood as a quantitative assessment of the mental capabilities of an individual. Intelligence always reflects a person's ability to learn and develop. The broader picture of the world is formed in an individual, the higher the IQ level can be called. Traditionally, the level of intelligence is measured by the Eysenck test, which generates a fairly accurate result in quantitative terms. Any person can pass the study of the level of intelligence today.
Indicators in units of measurement
Traditionally, it is considered to be a high result of the study if the IQ of a person is 200 units. There are very few such people in the whole world. As a rule, they are engaged in scientific activities or creativity. The average level of intelligence corresponds to 90-120 units. These indicators are observed in most people living on earth. Low intelligence starts at 70 and goes down. In general, low intelligence speaks, as a rule, of a mild or severe form of mental retardation.
What factors influence the level of intelligence?
Speaking about the indicators of the severity of intelligence, it would be useful to mention which components are at the heart of the development of mental abilities.
- Heredity. In traditional culture, it is commonly believed that genes influence. It is difficult to argue with this statement. It is noticed that in families with high rates of mental abilities and children grow more developed. Attention, memory, thinking, speech - all this is manifested in them in a superlative degree. In families where both parents are degraded individuals, the child will not receive any impetus for development. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that no one pays due attention to him.
- Environment. Of course, a small person is largely shaped by the atmosphere in which he is and grows for a long time. The environment instills in him his aspirations and tasks. Personality is formed only in society. When a baby experiences a warm attitude from birth, he learns to respect and appreciate his own "I". Subsequently, a holistic personality grows out of such a child, who knows what her purpose and main life task are.
- Race, age and gender. Numerous studies among different peoples show that they are not all developed equally. A higher level of intelligence was seen among Europeans, and a lower level among the peoples of Africa.
As for age, here experts unanimously agree that over time, a person's mental abilities fade away. This happens for the reason that an adult person puts little effort into self-education, but pays more attention to his own children. In children, by the way, there is a rapid growth of mental abilities - development is gradual, but true.
There are many intellectually developed personalities among girls, but there were no particular fluctuations among the indicators of their intelligence. Boys differ from each other in the degree of development of intellect more: among them there are many both very smart and those who are significantly behind in development.
Before looking for an answer to the question of how to increase your intellectual level, you need to decide what intelligence is. The Latin stem of the word ("intellectus") points to the specific lexical meaning of "understanding". What exactly must a person “understand” in order to be able to be called an intellectual? Public opinion, most often, connects the intellect with the mind and the amount of information that it can absorb and reproduce in the process of life. The fusion of static knowledge about the world with the dynamic component of working on it gives us a true understanding of the intellect as a special mental and at the same time psychological quality of a person.
What is the intellectual level?The classical components of the intellectual level are cognitive (memory, sensation, perception, representation, imagination) and mental (flexibility of the mind, breadth, logic, evidence and critical thinking) human abilities to perceive and analyze the surrounding reality.
The intellectual level is the higher, the better the thinking subject works with the information coming to him. A broad outlook, the ability to comprehensively study the object of mental activity, the separation of the main from the secondary, the construction of logically sound reasoning and the ability to timely abandon incorrectly drawn conclusions indicate a high intellectual level of a person.
The foundations of intelligence are laid in us from the moment of birth. Family and public education, primary, secondary and higher education - all these stages of acquaintance with the outside world year after year form within a person specific knowledge bases and logical mental tools for operating with them. However, in order to become a highly intellectual person, it is not enough just to grow up in a good family and get an education. You need to practice self-improvement every day and train your mind by offering it newer, more interesting food for thought.
Memory training
In order to increase your intellectual level, you need to be not only a comprehensively developed personality, but also have a good memory. Otherwise, everything that you receive from the outside may pass you by.
To train your memory, you should use the classic school methods of memorizing your favorite poems and literary quotes and solving mathematical, physical or chemical problems. Choose the area of knowledge that you like best, and work with it until you get bored.
A great way to keep your memory in good shape is to learn foreign languages. The more foreign new words you memorize every day, the easier it will be for you to work with information received in your native language.
Numerous crosswords (verbal - classical and crosswords; visual - Japanese; digital - Sudoku and many others), as well as a variety of mathematical and logical puzzles develop the dynamic properties of memory associated with the reproduction of information and the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships necessary to solve specific problems. practical tasks.
Introduction to culture
A high intellectual level is unthinkable without a certain cultural knowledge base. Its basics are laid at school, while subsequent realities depend on the person himself. Only we choose what we do: read Dontsova's frivolous detective stories or Sartre's philosophical works, watch My Fair Nanny on TV, or enjoy a live theater production of La bohème. Of course, there is nothing wrong with popular culture (in its own way, it also has a positive effect on the general level of erudition and understanding of the basics of modern life), but it is the introduction to the time-tested classics that allows a person to learn the unshakable laws of life, its principles and problems, exciting civilization over the past centuries and even millennia.
Mass culture - entertains the mind, classical - opens before him the world of true values. Literature, music, painting, theater, architecture, photography, ballet fill our memory and develop the spiritual qualities of a person.
Communication with other people
We live in a world filled with people. The society surrounds us in the family, at work and leisure. Understanding other people allows us to better understand the life around us and ourselves. The more we communicate, the more we learn. We discover human psychology, habits, interests. With proper observation, we can learn to empathize and help other people. A more complete immersion in the inner "I" of an outsider saves us from contacts with unworthy people and discovers interesting people.
Communication with people of different professions opens access to truly invaluable practical information. Nothing enriches a person like other people's professional secrets. Not a single book, not a single textbook will teach us what outsider personal experience, other people's mistakes and achievements can teach.
Interaction with objects
The world around us consists not only of scientific information, people and works of art. It contains a huge number of items, working with which allows you to increase your intellectual level and also for the benefit of business. What? The one you decide to do.
Culinary operations with products and technical operations with broken items can make your home a little “tastier” and more serviceable. The ability to understand fashion and materials is useful for buying high-quality clothes and shoes, and the ability to sew will ensure a long service life for the purchased items. Mastering the repair and construction sphere of everyday life will save the costs and nerves that are usually spent on hired workers. Joining one of the sports will temper not only your mind, but also your body.
The more you penetrate into the essence of objects, the easier it will be for you to master new material areas of your life. It just seems that the accumulated life experience is worth nothing. In fact, many, at first glance, useless and fragmentary knowledge can emerge in the mind at a critical moment and save you from sparking wiring or a car that has stalled on a desert road.
Ability to draw conclusions
The highest point in the development of human intellectual abilities can be called the ability to draw the right conclusions based on the data received. You can go to this for years, but you should not be afraid of this. Life is given to know it. Do you want her course to obey you? Pay attention to the little things, think about why everything happens the way it does. Look for causes, effects, connections. Build internal systemic relationships between objects, people, events. Learn to extract the information you need from any available sources - books, television, the Internet, other people, personal experience. Consider the facts that interest you from all sides. Don't throw anything aside. Don't let information take over - it's just a tool to understand the world, not the world itself. And don't be afraid to make mistakes. Admitted mistakes, like nothing else, allows you to increase your intellectual level.
Psychologists have named 13 scientifically proven signs of high intelligence. They are published by Business Insider.
1. The ability not to be distracted by extraneous things. A sign of high intelligence is the ability to focus attention for a long time on one thing ... This was confirmed by a small study conducted in 2013. During the experiments, it turned out that people with a high IQ (intelligence quotient) have a harder time noticing how the background slowly changes in a large image - because they concentrate on smaller details.
2. Late to bed and late to rise. Owls are smarter than larks. This controversial statement is confirmed by two scientific papers in 1999 and 2009, in which a total of thousands of people participated. People who stay up late and wake up late both on weekends and weekdays have higher intelligence.
3. Easy adaptation. Intelligence is inextricably linked with the ability to change one's behavior in order to act most effectively in the current situation, or change the situation.
4. Know that you don't know much. Smart people are not afraid to admit that they don't know something - because they can easily learn it or learn it. Studies show that the lower a person's intelligence, the more he tends to overestimate it, and vice versa. An experiment was conducted in which a large number of students took the same test. Those who did the worst on it thought they wrote it one and a half times better than they actually did, and those who were in the lead when calculating the results, on the contrary, believed that they did not cope.
5. Curiosity. Albert Einstein himself said that he was not very gifted, but very curious. Scientists say that curiosity is a sign of high intelligence. "Ordinary" people take "ordinary" things for granted, while intellectuals can admire exactly the same things. In 2016, an article was published based on the results of a study in which thousands of people participated. Those with higher IQs at age 11 were more inquisitive at age 50.
6. Openness to new ideas and opportunities. People who consider all alternatives, weigh and consider them rather than refuse to evaluate them, are, on average, smarter. Openness to new ideas and the ability to determine, based on facts, which of them can be best used is a sign of high intelligence.
7. Feeling comfortable alone with yourself. Highly intelligent people often have strong personalities, and a recent study indicates that "smart" people enjoy socializing less.
8. Good self-control. More intelligent are those people who are doing well with planning, evaluating alternative strategies and their possible consequences, setting specific
goals. In 2009, experiments showed that people with higher intelligence are more likely to choose between two options that will bring more profit, although it will take longer - and this requires self-control. Such people are not prone to impulsive decisions.
9. Great sense of humor. High intelligence is often associated with a sense of humor. Studies have shown that participants who drew funnier comics had higher IQs, and that professional comedians also perform better on average than the average person on IQ tests.
10. The ability to put yourself in the place of another person. Empathy is part of emotional intelligence, and some psychologists believe that those people who can understand how another person is feeling are more intelligent.
11. The ability to see connections and associations that others do not see. This is also characteristic of highly intelligent people. For example, they can tell you right off the bat what watermelon and sashimi have in common (both are eaten raw and cold). The ability to see parallels and general schemes is inextricably linked with intelligence, and this also includes creativity as the ability to present the old under the sauce of the new.
12. Frequent postponing of affairs "for later". People with higher intelligence are more likely to do routine things, postponing more important ones for later. At this moment, they are just thinking about this important thing. This action can also manifest itself in the very work on something important: it is the key to innovation.
13. Thoughts about the meaning of life. Reflections on global topics, such as the meaning of life or the existence of the universe, can also be an indicator of intelligence. Such people often think about why or why this or that event happened, and these existential reflections often increase the level of anxiety. On the other hand, highly intelligent people are always ready for things to go wrong.
Earlier, Pravda.Ru reported that American psychologists at the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted a study on the subject. Data analysis suggests that dreamy people have higher intellectual and creative abilities.
Secrets of IQ: About the IQ and related nonsense
Intelligence develops as we grow up. So, there are ways to stimulate the increase in its level. Why not use them?!
Before answering the main question of the article, how to increase intelligence, let's turn to the studied facts.
Psychologists have established a difference in the development of intelligence in women and men. If in the former it develops sharply up to a certain point, then in the latter it develops slowly and throughout life. Unfair but true! Therefore, if a woman undertakes to develop her intellect, then she should know: after the period of her formation as an adult, the chance to increase her IQ drops sharply. Many psychologists express this idea more sharply: after 23-25 years, a woman can increase her knowledge base and only, it is no longer possible to develop mental abilities.
There are also opposite opinions (mainly the indignation of female psychologists, more like a denial of the fact). In any case, your intellect, on which success in business, your life choices and destiny in general, depends, is worth it to make every effort ...
So, back to the problem of how to increase intelligence. What methods are known and available to everyone?
First, remember the main rule and make it your motto, otherwise nothing will work out: the intellect develops while it is used! If you don't grow, you degrade. Self-development should be your goal, no matter how it is expressed.
Limit your intellect from harmful influences: stupid TV shows, empty talk. Better make it work: on a serious project, an interesting riddle, a puzzle (in extreme cases, a crossword puzzle). Do more things that require mental effort. For example, you can write a scientific or philosophical book. What is closer to you?
Practice thinking globally and acting in relation to a real and current situation. The more information you can cover, the wider you look at the problem, the more effective you will be in business.
Here are some important principles to achieve the task, how to increase intelligence. By the way, they can also serve as examples of global thinking (for the future, in a long-term project).
What can be done privately? How to increase your intelligence now?
The brain must constantly be saturated with oxygen. Do not deprive him of this: regular walks in the fresh air, airing the premises and a mandatory minimum of physical activity - 2 times for 30 minutes every week !!! Even if you are not a supporter of physical education, aerobics, fitness, pick up the most simple exercises and do them. Or start running. You can choose an active sport. What do you like more?..
If you want to be as productive as possible, study your mental performance: what time is the peak of activity (for most people - at 11 o'clock in the afternoon, for some at one in the morning).
Be sure to improve your own speech. It is these two that are most closely connected with thinking and intellectual capabilities. Find the right tricks for (not pills! otherwise the effect will be short-lived), and start reading more. Give preference to books and magazines that are written in a language that requires extra effort to understand it. In a word, always reach for more (this is an example of a local action on a global plan).
External stimuli will also help to increase intelligence, with the help of which (smell, music, color) you can regulate any mental process and performance. And then train to work in any conditions: nothing is a hindrance to a good dancer! ..
Now you have “on hand” the basic techniques on how to increase intelligence, start small and do not be distracted from the intended goal, then the result will please you, and life will take on a different meaning ...
