In popular language, when talking about aspects related to intelligence and cognitive abilities 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 specialize in psychology and those who have studied medicine and other fields, who use both terms in an undifferentiated way. Even books that address this topic use both words interchangeably.
The objective of this article is to explain what the appropriate term is, in addition to clarify the difference between quotient and coefficient giving some examples related to their definitions and addressing this debate from a historical perspective.
Turning to 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 expressed generally as the relationship between two magnitudes. Although the RAE gives different definitions for “quotient” and “coefficient”, the truth is that exemplifies them with a similar expression: coefficient/intelligence quotient
This same case occurs in another institution specialized in clarifying linguistic doubts: the Fundéu BBVA. In fact, this organization has an entry on its website that deals with the “quotient” vs “IQ” debate, indicating that, in essence, they are the same, and that both expressions are correct.
Thus, starting from the given definitions and turning to the world of mathematics, We are going to exemplify with formulas what exactly the terms “quotient” and “coefficient” are To do this, we will leave aside its relationship with the construct of intelligence, 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 as is the “expansion coefficient”, which relates the length of an object to its increase in temperature: ΔL = α Δt, with ΔL being the increase in length, α the expansion coefficient and Δt the increase in temperature.
A quotient is basically dividing something by something. A clear example of this is how IQ was calculated in the beginning, by psychologists of the stature of Alfred Binet and William Stern. They basically 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, in addition, it does not multiply to a variable value.
As you can see, in institutions specialized in language 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.
Although 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 literature, we do demand that “intelligence quotient” be recognized as the only correct expression. ”.
Historical background
The first person to use the expression “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 through the results that he has obtained in psychometric tests, and comparing them with the rest of the people in the same age group. The IQ is distributed in the population in the shape of a Gaussian bell, with a central value of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
Alfred Binet, another important psychologist from Nice, France, calculated the IQ of the children who came to his office by dividing: the person’s mental age divided by his or her chronological age, and multiplying the result by 100. Thus Well, the appropriate term is quotient because a division is made.
As we have already said, the original term came from the German “intelligenzquotient”, and when translated into English it became literally, “intelligence quotient”. On the other hand, in Spanish, speakers, whether specialized or not, continue to hesitate today, and even more so if the institutions of the language treat both “quotient” and “coefficient” as if they were synonyms in practice
Although today the calculation of IQ has changed and alternatives to the tests have been proposed that are based on those used by Binet and Stern, among other psychologists of the time, the truth is that the appropriate expression is still “intelligence quotient”
However, as we have indicated before, there are many, both those specialized in psychology and those not, who continue to use the expression “IQ”. Based on this article and what is explained in it, there is no longer any reason to make the mistake.
