Fake IQ Tests on the Internet

Have you ever taken an IQ test? Well one of the more unusual pranks on the Internet is to ask someone to complete one of these, not in a serious business setting of course, but just as a way of winding someone up!

The beauty of a fake IQ test is that the respondent does not realise what is going on and by taking the challenge for real, they are unwittingly being made to look rather foolish! The trick about fake IQ tests is to either make the answers really difficult to ascertain or to make the question impossible to answer with any certainty. Another method is to leave out the correct answer in a multi choice question. There are a few ways that a fake IQ test can be designed.

What Constitutes a Real IQ Test and Vice Versa?

The idea of a fake IQ test is for fun purposes only, and it should not be directed at anyone who is likely to take the results seriously. People are entitled to keep their confidence intact, especially if they are the victim of a simple joke! Some tests do look remarkably like the real thing, so you have to be able to distinguish between fake and real IQ tests. Fake IQ tests, like the real thing can be presented as multi choice or straight questions. You have to use your own judgement to decide on their authenticity. In some cases the answers to these can be in the form of "true" or "false" answers.

So where do these fake IQ tests come from? Some of these are from real IQ tests sites, and use them as a way of promoting their website and services. One of these is named "IQtestforfree" and they designed a spoof test specifically for the purpose of emailing friends, family or work colleagues.

A knock-on effect of a fake IQ test is that if the questions themselves are considered to be authentic, the results may be analysed and taken seriously too. This in turn could lead to inappropriate actions or assessments of the victim. In this case, both the person using the test to monitor someone's intelligence and the person taking it become "fake IQ test" victims. Although this is highly unlikely to occur, it is not impossible and it has probably happened, especially when there are so many "free" IQ tests available from the Internet.

Examples of fake IQ tests could be:

• A university test paper (Could be for an example test paper, however).
• To fool someone in an email as a joke.
• To test someone for a real (or fictitious) job vacancy.
• To try and work out if questions are the real thing, or made up.
• To fool someone into believing they have a higher IQ via real questions, which are deliberately easy in order to provide an inflated IQ score.

Fake or Real IQ Test, You Decide!

The following tests your ability in deciding if an IQ test is real or fake. Take a look at the questions and see if you can answer them, and in the process, decide if the test is real or not:

A glass is filled up to halfway, therefore it is:

• A) Half Full
• B) Half Empty
• C) Depends on your point of view

Sam has a bag of apples. If all of the apples in the bag are red apples and all red apples have a stem, then do all of the apples in the bag have stems?

• A) Yes
• B) No
• C) Impossible to tell

All work and no play makes Jack a ____ boy

• A) Funny
• B) Dull
• C) Kind

If some of the pens are blue and some of the pens are in the drawer, then are some of the pens in the drawer blue?

• A) Yes
• B) No
• C) Impossible to tell

John, twelve years old, is three times as old as his brother. How old will John be when he is twice as old as his brother?

• A) 15
• B) 16
• C) 18
• D) None of the above.

Of all the jokes and pranks available on the Internet, fake IQ tests are popular as they are easy to obtain and simple to use. The trick is to use your own judgement when undertaking tests passed to you by a work colleague (unless it has been arranged as part of your job), friend or relative. If there are jokers in your family or friends, this should make it easier to spot if you are presented with a fake test. By the way, if you have completed the above you will notice that the above test could constitute a real test, as the questions can all be answered.