colpx001: May 2012 Archives

For a typical description the Western view of IQ, look no further than the game show "Jeopardy!". In the show, three above-average people compete in a trivia showdown to amass the most cash, and for a chance to compete again on the next show as the champion. Many Americans would be quick to call a daily winner very intelligent, but when considering the truth of IQ, they may not be smarter than the average viewer.

The main factor behind this point is that, for the most part, "Jeopardy!" is merely a game of trivia. Questions (well, answers) from it, though phrased quite variably, are similar to those that you'd find on a typical "Trivial Pursuit" card. While an IQ test such as the WAIS inventories many different aspects of intelligence, like arithmetic, puzzles and patterns, trivia shows like "Jeopardy!" deal with only one: information. Therefore, many people who score average, or even worse, on an IQ test could be successful on a trivia show, where the only necessity is general knowledge and, well, trivia. Without taking many different standards into account, we can not look at game show winners and immediately describe them as intelligent.

I think the concept of psychology that I am most likely to remember for a while is the wide variety of psychological disorders, vast differences between them, and their prevelance. I've always found disorders to be the most interesting area of psychology, yet I still didn't know as much about it as I thought. The readings gave me an especially good insight into the troubles of some close friends and relatives.

After first hearing of my close friend going through panic attacks, I had little clue what could cause them, nor did I think know how common they were. Reading about it not only gave me information about the problem, it gave me ideas as to how to help my friend through these attacks.

With some of these disorders, such as depression and anxiety, becoming increasingly common, it is important to think about how they are diagnosed, how they can be helped, and what puts a person at risk for them, because one or more could afflict us later in life. And, again, by keeping in mind that these things are common, we can put aside misconceptions and seek the help that is needed.