Do the Mega and Titan Tests Yield Accurate Results? An Investigation into Two Experimental Intelligence Tests

David Redvaldsen

doi:10.3390/psych2020010

Abstract

The Mega and Titan Tests were designed by Ronald K. Hoeflin to make fine distinctions in the intellectual stratosphere. The Mega Test purported to measure above-average adult IQ up to and including scores with a rarity of one in a million of the general population. The Titan Test was billed as being even more difficult than the Mega Test. In this article, these claims are subjected to scrutiny. Both tests are renormed using the normal curve of distribution. It is found that the Mega Test has a higher ceiling and a lower floor than the Titan Test. While the Mega Test may thus seem preferable as a psychometric instrument, it is somewhat marred by a number of easy items in its verbal section. Although official scores reported to test-takers are too high, it is likely that the Mega Test does stretch to the one in a million level. The Titan Test does not. Testees who had previously taken standard intelligence tests achieved average scores of 135–145 IQ on those. Since the mean of all scores on the Mega and Titan Tests was found to be IQ 137 and IQ 138, respectively, testees had considerable scope to find their true level without ceiling effects. Both are unusual and non-standard tests which require a great deal of effort to complete. Nevertheless, they deserve consideration as they represent an inventive experimental method of measuring the very highest levels of human intelligence and have been taken by enough subjects to allow norming.

Highlights

Intelligence tests were invented by Alfred Binet and his student Théodore Simon in 1905 with the purpose of identifying pupils in need of remedial help in French public education
While the Mega Test may seem preferable as a psychometric instrument, it is somewhat marred by a number of easy items in its verbal section
Official scores reported to test-takers are too high, it is likely that the Mega Test does stretch to the one in a million level

Summary

Introduction

Intelligence tests were invented by Alfred Binet and his student Théodore Simon in 1905 with the purpose of identifying pupils in need of remedial help in French public education. A young professor of education at Stanford University, made his reputation as the foremost authority on all matters connected with intelligence. Terman’s first book on the topic, The Measurement of Intelligence, featured examples of individuals within the various classifications [1]. By the time his The Intelligence of School Children was published three years later, it was clear that. Terman’s primary interest was in subjects scoring at the highest levels [2]. He had already begun a study of exceptional children, which became the basis for longitudinal research into the lives and careers of the gifted

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