Quotient or IQ? Clarifying these concepts

In popular language, when talking about aspects related to intelligence and cognitive abilities in In general, it is common to hear the expressions IQ and IQ used as if they were synonyms.

It is not uncommon to find people, both those who are specialized in psychology and those who have studied medicine and other fields, who use both terms interchangeably. Even books that address this topic use both words interchangeably.

The objective of this article is to explain what is the appropriate term, in addition to clarify the difference between quotient and coefficient, giving some examples related to their definitions and approaching this debate from a historical perspective.

• Related article: "theories of human intelligence"

Quotient or IQ: what is the difference?

Using the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), we can find the definitions for "quotient" and "coefficient".

According to the RAE, the word quotient refers to the result obtained by dividing one quantity by another, while the word coefficient has among its meanings the term used to refer to a numerical expression of a property or characteristic, which is generally expressed as the relationship between two magnitudes. Despite the fact that the RAE gives differentiated definitions for "quotient" and "coefficient", the truth is that

exemplifies them with a similar expression: IQ/IQ.

This same case occurs in another institution specializing in clarifying linguistic doubts: the Fundéu BBVA. In fact, this organization has an entry on its website that deals with the "quotient" vs. "intelligence quotient", indicating that, in essence, they are the same, and that both expressions are correct.

Thus, starting from the definitions given and resorting to the world of mathematics, We are going to exemplify with formulas what exactly are the terms "quotient" and "coefficient". To do this, we will leave aside its relationship with the intelligence construct, to later return to it.

basic definitions

A coefficient is, in essence, a factor, that is, something that multiplies something else, such as a linear function: y = ax + b. In this formula, a is the coefficient of x, because it multiplies it.

Also with coefficient, in scientific fields such as physics, reference is made to a formula with which it is intended to discern the value of the property of a certain element, such as the “coefficient of expansion”, which relates the length of an object to its increase in temperature: ΔL = α Δt, where ΔL is the increase in length, α is the coefficient of expansion and Δt is the increase in temperature.

A quotient is basically dividing something by something. A clear example of this is how IQ was calculated at the beginning, by psychologists of the stature of Alfred Binet and William Stern. Basically they divided mental age by chronological age and multiplied it by 100 to remove decimal values. Some might think that it really is a coefficient because it is multiplied by 100, but the truth is that it is not because this value is not always the same, and it does not multiply a variable value.

As can be seen, in specialized language institutions such as the RAE or the Fundéu BBVA, sometimes the specialized opinion of professionals is not taken into account of a certain field, such as psychologists and pedagogues.

These institutions focus on how language is used in society and how it evolves. For this reason, in recent years terms such as “toballa” or “cocreta” have been accepted in dictionaries, although specifying that their use is not formal, but reflecting linguistic reality.

Despite the fact that psychologists and other professionals specialized in health and social sciences respect the criteria and professionalism of linguists, philologists and other specialists in the fields of humanities and letters, we do demand that the "quotient intellectual".

• You may be interested in: "Types of intelligence tests"

Historical background

The first person to use the term "IQ" was the German psychologist William Stern., in 1912, creating the German word “intelligenzquotient”. This term refers to the relative intellectual capacity of a person at the time of being evaluated. This is assessed by means of the results obtained in psychometric tests, and by comparing them with the rest of the people of the same age group. The intelligence quotient is distributed in the population in the form of a Gaussian bell, with a central value of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

Alfred Binet, another prominent psychologist from Nice, France, measured the IQs of children who attended to your inquiry by dividing: the person's mental age divided by his chronological age, and multiplying the result by 100. Thus, the proper term is quotient because we are dividing.

As we have already said, the original term came from the German “intelligenzquotient”, and when it was translated into English it became literally “intelligence quotient”. On the other hand, in Spanish the speakers, whether they are specialized or not, continue to waver today, and even more so if the institutions of the language treat both "quotient" and "coefficient" as if they were practically synonymous.

Although today the calculation of IQ has changed and alternatives to tests based on those used by Binet and Stern, among other psychologists of the time, have been proposed, the truth is that the appropriate thing is still the expression "intelligence quotient".

However, as we have indicated before, there are many, both those specialized in psychology and those who do not, who continue to use the expression "intelligence quotient". Based on this article and what is explained in it, there is no reason to fall into error.

Bibliographic references:

• Quotient. (2018.). In Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (23rd edition). Recovered from https://dle.rae.es/?w=cociente
• Coefficient. (2018). In Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (23rd edition). Recovered from https://dle.rae.es/?id=9e8d8Dc