Intelligence has always been perceived as being related to the individual himself. The relationship between intelligence and success depends on the individual’s own effort. Especially after the 10,000 hour rule, the most common belief has turned into the understanding of “the harder you work, the more successful you will be”. What if it isn’t?
The findings of psychologist Alison Miller and many other researchers in their work with college students were that it was a common belief that intelligence can be developed with effort, patience, and hard work. In later studies, it was found that some people may not be successful even if these factors are in the person. Some of the influencing factors were family attitudes, number of siblings, and socio-economic status of the family.
Who measures the intelligence of children who are said to be intelligent and not working?
The scientific world has been working on what exactly intelligence is for many years. Numerous theories such as analytical intelligence, emotional intelligence, multiple intelligence theories have been put forward, and intelligence has been tried to be measured objectively. Today, tests such as the WISC-R intelligence test, whose validity and reliability studies have been conducted, are used for children only by experts. The adult version of the same test is the Wechsler Intelligence test.
Although there are many tests whose validity and reliability studies have been conducted, there are many tests in the market that are generally short and consist of a few questions, no research has been done on them, and it is not clear how much they measure. Particular attention should be paid to this when taking an intelligence test.
If you are smart but have not had a successful life, it may be due to:
1. Maybe you couldn’t be with the people you needed to be in the right place at the right time.
Despite the importance of one’s own intelligence and individual effort, sometimes it is necessary to be in the right place with the right people. Like Bill Gates being with Paul Allen and being able to use computers that many universities didn’t even have access to when he was still in high school.
2. A conscious family can add success to your success.
Studies have shown that children of parents with higher education have higher school success. These families become more conscious and make the necessary investment in their children. As a result, the child learns how to overcome the obstacles in front of him and how to seek his rights at a very young age, so when he encounters setbacks, he thinks about how he can overcome his problems instead of getting depressed and giving up.
3. Geography is not destiny, but your family’s socio-economic status may be.
Studies have shown that children of families with good socio-economic status and support for their child’s education are more successful in the future. In families with a lower socio-economic status, the budget allocated by the family for education is more limited. The time that families allocate for the education of their children is also limited and they cannot take care of them enough.
In these families, children are educated from a very young age to contribute to the economy of the house. As in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, children whose physical needs are not met do not develop a strong personality, and they remain emotionally weak. As a result, no matter how high the intelligence is, suicide attempts, renunciations and psychological depressions can be seen.
4. Your siblings may have taken your success as well as their toys.
According to some of the studies, as the number of siblings of students increases, the level of success decreases. Although the reason for this is not known exactly, it is thought that it may be due to the division of the economic income allocated to education again. At this point, if the education level of the father is high, the success of the child increases despite all the impossibilities.
Note: In this article, possible reasons for not making a successful career have been compiled according to research results. The aim is not to blame people who may have hindered you, but to find answers to some of your unanswered questions.
Sources: Dergipark, APA, Education and Science (TED), Outliers-Malcolm Gladwell
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