Improve Your Visual IQ: The Best Visual Intelligence Tests
Are you curious about how you’ll fare in a visual intelligence test?
If you are, then this article might be just for you.
Visual intelligence, spatial intelligence, or even spatial awareness, is the ability to use the mind to navigate spaces and visualize geometric shapes and objects.
For example, humans use visual intelligence when they rotate a pyramid in their minds.
Similarly, when they remember the correct route to their favorite restaurant.
Visual intelligence often gets measured in certain employment, aptitude, or certification procedures, and it’s a part of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
With that said, there are many spatial awareness tests available out there.
But of course, we don’t want to waste your time by searching them.
In this article, you can find some visual intelligence tests along with other information on visual intelligence.
Table of Contents
What is Visual Intelligence?
Visual intelligence, spatial intelligence, or spatial awareness can be defined as a cognitive function.
It is helpful in many tasks, from simple daily ones to complex, role-defined ones.
It’s intelligence related to the skill of visualizing using the mind and of perceiving one’s own body and space.
The physical world, three-dimensional as it is, is also worked within visual intelligence.
Thus, knowing which path to take into the wilds or localizing oneself on a map is part of visual intelligence.
Visual intelligence is intimately related to spatial memory.
It is the ability to memorize spatial information previously visualized, such as navigating in a known neighborhood.
One theory regarding visual intelligence is the Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
A concept developed by the psychologist Howard Gardner.
That theory affirms that humans have eight types of intelligences.
Each one used for one different type of task.
All of those intelligences, though, complement each other and compose the whole of human cognition.
Spatial awareness is one of Gardner’s intelligences theory, together with linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, and others.
It’s also worth noting that spatial awareness was and still is vital to our evolution.
Humans can design effective structures, remember paths, and recognize places due to their spatial reasoning and memory.
In prehistoric times, that ability made prehistoric humans capable of avoiding predators, catching prey, and finding food.
All in all, visual intelligence is an important ability.
Some humans have better visual intelligence than others, and it’s possible to test that.
What Do Visual Intelligence Tests Evaluate?
Visual intelligence tests come with various questions.
Examples of those questions could be “Which shape fits this three-dimensional figure?”
Or “When folded, which figure does that shape create?”
After you finish them, the tests usually give your results in the form of a score and/or a text.
People with high scores most likely are more capable drivers or designers.
Meanwhile, those who get lower scores probably have difficulty memorizing routes or calculating the space occupied by furniture.
There are different kinds of intelligences, and they can be related to specific occupations.
For example, people with good mathematical intelligence can deal with finance.
On the other hand, people with good linguistic skills probably are good at teaching.
Those who have high spatial intelligence might excel in architecture, driving, engineering, and other similar roles.
Thus, visual intelligence tests are helpful to measure how adequate someone is for a specific job.
That happens when assessing an individual’s capability to drive.
That’s why exams for a driver’s license often come with spatial awareness tests.
Therefore, visual intelligence tests evaluate the capability to mentally measure spaces, visualize and interact with different forms, and exert specific tasks.
Knowing what visual intelligence tests evaluate is an advantage that helps to get better scores.
How To Find Visual Intelligence Tests Online
There are many visual intelligence tests scattered throughout the Internet.
But finding the best one isn’t an easy task.
It can require extensive searches and knowledge about technical topics, such as psychology and neurology.
Besides, each individual has their distinctive spatial intelligence.
As such, some tests might be better for a particular person, while others might not.
Good for us, there are some tips and tricks to ease the burden on the search for the best visual intelligence test online.
Firstly, remember that “visual intelligence”, “spatial intelligence” and “spatial awareness” all refer to the same concept.
Secondly, look for websites committed to psychology, neurology or aptitude tests, such as Psychology Today and AssessmentDay.
Thirdly, look for the official visual intelligence tests, as those tend to be more accurate.
An official visual intelligence test is one that has been done by professionals of the area, such as psychologists and neurologists.
And last but not least, look for more than just one test.
Every person is unique.
To an individual, some tests are more appropriate than others.
Consequently, it’s advisable to do more than just one test to properly evaluate one’s visual intelligence.
That’s also important to know when trying to train one’s spatial awareness because practice makes perfect.
Moreover, there’s no better practice for a visual intelligence test than other visual intelligence tests.
With those tips in mind, search engines such as Google or Bing are helpful to find more visual intelligence tests.
Or they can be done in specialized places, such as scientific journals.
Examples Of Visual Intelligence Tests
There are some visual intelligence tests with higher accuracy than others.
Here are some of the best, along with some of their characteristics.
This test, by Paul Newton and Helen Bristoll, is extensive and complete, and available freely on the PDF, along with some useful information.
Practice Aptitude Tests is an extensive and complete test with a free demo; however, you have to pay for it.
Their website even comes with tutorial videos!
For those with more curiosity and thirst for knowledge, there’s this scientific work about visual intelligence tests.
It explains many tests’ questions, the process of making the test, and how test takers should answer them.
In case there’s a need for more results from other tests, you can always search for terms like “spatial awareness test” with the use of any search engine.
Many video games also test the visual intelligence of individuals.
Those games are helpful to test and improve your spatial awareness, such as those made by Lumosity.
Or they can be games for pure fun, such as open-world games.
One example of the latter kind of game is Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games.
It contains a big, open map and requires the use of visual intelligence in order to navigate around.
That way, you can have fun playing games while taking a spatial awareness test.
Good Visual Intelligence
A person with good visual intelligence will find it easier than others to visualize three-dimensional objects.
It is easier for them to interact with those objects mentally.
One example of that is when someone imagines a rotating triangular pyramid (tetrahedron).
Those with good visual intelligence will easily able to rotate, in their minds, a tetrahedron.
Another example of spatial awareness is when a person needs to park a car in a tight space.
That task requires the driver to picture the car in its space and see how much it will occupy the parking lot.
People with good visual intelligence will have better performance in that task.
Examples of spatial awareness use are also included in education, mainly in mathematics and natural sciences (physics and chemistry).
Representing a three-dimensional carbohydrate with pen and paper requires spatial skills.
To illustrate by predicting the movement, speed, and position of an object.
Thus, it’s possible to identify children and teenagers with good spatial intelligence by seeing their grades at school.
Besides, spatial awareness has an intimate relationship with one’s body perception.
Thus, people with good visual intelligence also tend to be better at some physical activities and sports.
And that we can confirm in children and teenagers as well.
The quality of their spatial awareness connects to their physical education performance.
In this sense, it’s also worth noting that people with good visual intelligence are better at predicting other people’s and objects’ movements.
As has been said, video games test people’s spatial awareness.
As such, people with good visual intelligence tend to outperform others in those games.
Organizing a house is also a way to know how good a person’s spatial intelligence is.
Simply putting books on a bookshelf is a way of demonstrating good spatial awareness.
Poor Visual Intelligence
As for poor visual intelligence, it can be seen in many tasks, too.
People with poor visual intelligence probably are bad drivers.
They have difficulty picturing their own car’s dimensions and fitting those dimensions in places.
Those individuals also tend to perform poorly in geometry.
Since geometry activity requires visualization of two and three dimensional structures.
Physics and chemistry will probably be topics in which people with poor spatial awareness will have difficulty.
They’ll find it hard to picture an electron changing from one molecule to the other.
Or to know the position of a moving object after a particular time.
Poor visual intelligence is also related to bad performance at sports and physical exercise.
This is because someone isn’t good at perceiving their own body and moving it correctly.
So, if a child or teenager has terrible grades in physical education, physics, and chemistry, they probably need to improve their spatial awareness.
Video games that require spatial awareness can also show whether or not a person has terrible visual intelligence.
If someone always has difficulties playing games, their visual intelligence has to be improved.
Badly organized houses with strange furniture positioning might also mean either strange tastes or bad spatial awareness.
A room with disorganized objects, such as shoes, is a sign of bad visual intelligence, as well.
People with bad visual intelligence can improve their abilities, though, because the brain is changeable.
How To Improve Visual Intelligence
Visual intelligence can be improved in several ways.
The neural pathways of the brain can change and evolve if correctly stimulated.
Because of that, specific training induces changes in neuronal activity and stimulates the development of a particular area of the brain.
For spatial awareness, certain areas are located both at and around the right parietal lobe (the right, superior, middle part of the brain).
Statistically, the area responsible for spatial awareness is more developed in men than in women.
However, training reduces or nullifies sex differences in visual intelligence.
That means that if a man with good spatial intelligence and a woman with poor spatial intelligence train that specific skill, they will, at some point, become equally capable in that kind of intelligence.
But how’s it possible to train one’s spatial awareness?
As said before, spatial awareness and spatial memory are cognitive abilities used both in day-to-day tasks and in specific roles.
And so, a person’s visual intelligence can be trained by focusing on certain tasks.
Rearranging a shelf or safely training driving skills are some of those simple tasks.
But that intelligence can also be stimulated with online games and activities intended for that purpose.
Games like some of the ones provided by BrainGymmer and Lumosity can train someone’s spatial awareness.
As has been said, video games like Red Dead Redemption can also work in many brain areas.
And among those areas is the one responsible for visual intelligence.
Besides, an excellent way to train spatial awareness is to study and complete tests destined for evaluating one’s spatial intelligence.
Visual Intelligence In Children
Children begin developing visual intelligence very early in life.
Playing with toys and recognizing how other people move are signs that they are starting to develop their spatial awareness.
For kids, exploring the world around them is also important in the process of visual intelligence development.
That is why it isn’t advisable to confine children to tight spaces and prohibit them from safely crawling or walking around.
Interactions and games with the young are also key points in helping them develop their spatial awareness.
Some games can contain puzzles that are fun and rewarding to solve and require visual intelligence.
Other games, such as those containing blocks or building pieces, are also demanding in visual intelligence.
Thus, elaborating on those games and playing them with children is very relevant in developing their spatial skills.
Anatomical and locational vocabulary is also important for young people.
Teaching a child what is “up” and what is “down”, means helping them use those words in their own daily life.
It’s also crucial to know, as early as possible, when a child has poor spatial awareness.
So, it’s vital to observe a child playing with toys and hearing from teachers about that child’s performance in different spaces.
Places such as a school or someone else’s house can help the child develop their spatial abilities.
Children with poor spatial intelligence will probably have difficulty in walking, knowing distances, and interacting with objects.
Some conditions may impact a child’s spatial awareness development.
Conditions like sight impairment, autism, and Turner syndrome can worsen the child’s ability to recognize and explore the world around them.
If there is doubt about a young one’s visual intelligence, a good course of action is to seek professional help from a doctor as soon as possible and carry out any treatment as prescribed.
Visual Intelligence Impairment
Visual intelligence may be impaired in teenagers and adults, as well.
That can happen from brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases if they target the areas responsible for spatial awareness and spatial memory.
Brain injury have many causes such as a trauma or a stroke.
While neurodegenerative diseases are mostly related to old age or genetics, as happens with Alzheimer’s disease.
For that reason, most people that have a neurodegenerative disease or suffer one or more brain injuries will undergo a spatial awareness test of some kind, perhaps more than once.
It is recommended, for those patients, to lead an active life, seeking new hobbies, exercising, playing games and solving puzzles.
Unfortunately, sometimes brain damage can be irreversible.
That doesn’t mean, though, that someone who suffers brain damage can’t improve their cognitive skills.
Cognitive skills such as spatial awareness can be improved, to a limit, in order to improve the quality of life of such patients.
Therefore, people with visual intelligence impairment should get professional assistance.
They should perform activities in order to reverse, at least to a certain degree, the level of damage to their spatial intelligence.
Final Thoughts
It is easy to conclude that visual intelligence is a cognitive skill of utmost importance to human beings.
Relatively, it helped us during evolution and still helps us with our daily and specialized tasks.
For that reason, spatial awareness can and should be improved when possible.
And so, with that in mind, it’s important to train for visual intelligence tests with puzzles, games, and interaction with the world, and by searching for the tests and doing their questions.
Always have in mind that poor spatial awareness can be related to serious conditions, especially when present in children.
So, it’s important to seek professional help at all times.
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