Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

High IQ society

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

A high IQ society is an organization that limits its membership to people who have attained a specified high score on an IQ test. The oldest, largest, and best-known such society is Mensa International, which was founded by Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware in 1946. Other societies are Intertel, founded by Ralph Haines in 1966; the Triple Nine Society, founded in 1978; the Prometheus Society; and the Mega Society.

Contents

Entry requirements

High IQ societies typically accept a variety of IQ tests for membership eligibility, with some of the tests being tests devised by the organization founders and not validated by psychologists.

The highest reported standard score for most IQ tests is IQ 160, approximately the 99.997th percentile (leaving aside the issue of the considerable error in measurement at that level of IQ on any IQ test). IQ scores above this level are dubious, as there are insufficient normative cases upon which to base a statistically justified rank-ordering. High IQ scores are less reliable than IQ scores nearer to the population median.

Some societies

The entrance criteria for IQ societies vary considerably across both kinds of tests accepted (for example, whether the tests tap primarily numerical, spatial, or verbal abilities, or whether the tests have adequate test security or not) and how high one must score in order to acquire membership.

Some societies, including widely known societies such as Mensa, accept the results of standardized tests taken elsewhere. Those are listed below by selectivity percentile (assuming the now-standard definition of IQ as a standard score with a median of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 IQ points):

  • Mensa International – as of January 2014, ~110,000 members from ~100 countries; annual dues for American Mensa are $70 (dues differ by country).

    • Top 2 percent of population (98th percentile; 1 person out of 50; approximately IQ 130):

  • Intertel – as of January 2014, 1,300-1,400 members; annual dues are $39

    • Top 1 percent (99th percentile; 1 out of 100; approximately IQ 135):

  • Triple Nine Society – as of January 2016, 1,700 members from 50 countries; annual dues are $10.

    • Top 0.1 percent (99.9th percentile; 1 out of 1,000; approximately IQ 146):

  • Prometheus Society – as of January 2014, ~120 members; annual dues are $50.

    • Top 0.003 percent (99.997th percentile; 1 out of 30,000; approximately IQ 160) (not reliable with current tests):

  • Mega Society – as of January 2014, 26 members

    • Top 0.0001 percent (99.9999th percentile; 1 out of 1,000,000; approximately IQ 172)

    References

    High IQ society Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA