Perception, Cognition, and Intelligence Tests

The following is a list of arious intelligence and IQ tests, cognitive tests, and perceptual tests which you may find useful for research, study, or personal exploration. I have tried to restrict this list to tests which I think are important, widely-used, and grounded in valid and well-established theory. As I write or come across useful tests, I will add them to this list. If you notice that any of the links don't work (or, worse yet, that any sites require a fee!), please send me a short note.
 

For background information on psychological theories of cognition, intelligence, and perception (upon which these tests are founded), see my Perception Resources, Cognitive Psychology Resources, Intelligence Resources, and Psychology of Language Resources. For some guidelines on how to examine and think critically about psychological theories, see the Bolton Institute of Psychology's workbook, Assessing Theories in Psychology. For more detailed information on these tests, including psychometric data, see the Measurement Excellence and Training Resource Information Center, the Mental Measurements Yearbook (Buros Institute), and James Neill's Summaries of Tools, Instruments & Questionnaires.
 

Classical Intelligence Test - 2nd Revision
(from Psychology Today and PsychTests.com)
http://psychologytoday.psychtests.com/tests/classical_iq_r2_access.html
Measures various factors of intelligence: logical reasoning, math skills, and general knowledge. Also assesses abilities to classify items according to attributes and recognise analogies. Provides a general "IQ" score, adjusted for age and gender. Subscores include: pattern recognition; classification; making analogies; arithmetic; general knowledge; and logic. Popular for personal interest, human resources testing, and educational purposes. Statistical analysis shows the test to be valid and reliable; it has been validated on 352,000 individuals (is now in third phase of evaluation). Note this is not an official IQ test (i.e., a test like the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale/WAIS, Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children/WISC, or Raven's Progressive Matrices) but is still quite useful. Note also that it only measures for a select number of aspects of intelligence (i.e., other theories propose that the notion of "intelligence" encompasses other abilities that traditional IQ tests do not measure; these include creativity, practical intelligence, verbal intelligence, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, etc.). For a backgrounder on intelligence, see James Neill's page on Individual Differences, http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/intelligence.html.

Emotional Intelligence ("EQ") Test (Short)
3 Versions:
http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/eqtest2.htm
http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/eqtest.htm
http://ei.haygroup.com/resources/default_ieitest.htm
"Emotional intelligence" is a term popularised by psychologist Daniel Goleman. According to him, "EI" is a different kind of intelligence that involves "knowing your feelings and using them to make good decisions; managing your feelings well; motivating yourself with zeal and persistence; maintaining hope in the face of frustration; exhibiting empathy and compassion; interacting smoothly; and managing your relationships effectively" (from Emotional Intelligence). This is a very short, modified version of a test that measures one's "EQ". Use all three versions if you can. A longer test is listed below (even though it, too, is not a full, official version); use both tests together for best results. (See criticisms of the concept of emotional intelligence by S. Hein).

Emotional Intelligence Test - 2nd Revision (Detailed)
(from Yahoo Health, Psychology Today, and PsychTests.com)
http://psychologytoday.psychtests.com/tests/emotional_iq_r2_access.html
Tests for the same factors as mentioned above. However, this test is longer and more detailed. Provides an overall "EQ" score as well as subscores: emotional insight into self; goal orientation and motivation; emotional expression; and social insight and empathy. Offers suggestions on improving specific EQ skills. Popular for personal interest, human resources testing, and counselling purposes. Statistical analysis shows the test to be valid and reliable; it has been validated on 84,000 individuals. Use in combination with the EQ tests listed above. (See criticisms of the concept of emotional intelligence by S. Hein).

Exploratorium Online Activities
http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/online.html
About 25 fun and educational games and demonstrations related to human perception and cognition.

Fromm's Orientations Test
(via George Boeree's website at Shippensburg University)
http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/frommtest.html
Based on Erich Fromm's theory of the social unconscious: that there are five personality types (or "orientations" as he calls them) that develop as a result of each individual's intimate interaction with society. These personality traits can best be understood by looking at our society's economic systems. Each of Fromm's five traits are actually described using economic terms.

Lateral Thinking Puzzles
(Paul Sloane)
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/sloane and http://rec-puzzles.org/lateral.html
"Lateral thinking" involves approaching situations from perspectives that are often completely different (although quite simple) from the ones we usually (read, automatically) use to solve problems. This is a great list of puzzles.

MazeWorks
http://www.mazeworks.com
An excellent collection of fun games and puzzles that test your problem-solving and cognitive skills. Includes: Daily Chess Problem, English 16, Fiver, Peg Solitaire, Sliders, Tower of Hanoi, Hare and Hounds, Hex-7, TacTix, and Triplets. Also includes a random maze generator.

MindGames
http://www.queendom.com/mindgames/index.html
All sorts of memory games, brain teasers, trivia, IQ quizzes, and puzzles that help you test and sharpen your problem-solving and cognitive skills.

Prisoner's Dilemma
(available from Serendip or Mike Shor)
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/pdref.html or http://www.gametheory.net/Web/PDilemma/
The prisoner's dilemma is a type of non-zero-sum game frequently used by cognitive psychologists to test how people make decisions that give them the maximum payoff. The decision you make in the dilemma depends upon the decision that is made by your opponent. Fun and very educational!

Thinking Styles Assessment (Katherine Benziger, PhD)
http://www.benziger.org
Information and articles on recent physiological research supporting Carl Jung's theory of psychological types: the idea that different people have different ways of perceiving, understanding, and relating with the world (ie, introversion and extraversion, feeling and thinking, intuition and sensation). Includes: a brief history of Jung's type theory; information on the relation between Jung's styles and the physical brain; and details on Benziger's falsification assessment—a test which helps determine the extent to which a person's most developed and/or used skills are outside his/her area of natural giftedness or preference (a scenario in which it is theorised that: the person's brain must work harder; the person is irritable and has trouble mastering new tasks; and, over the long term, the person experiences exhaustion, depression, a lack of satisfaction, premature ageing of the brain, and susceptibility to illness). Benziger's assessment tools are used by human resources departments, career counsellors, and therapists. Although there is a fee to receive a detailed, individual assessment and profile, it may be worth the money for some people (so long as they get enough information about the validity of the assessment test).

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