— Cognitive concept
Verbal IQ
The cognitive ability index measuring language-based reasoning, vocabulary, and verbal comprehension.
Verbal IQ (VIQ) is one of the two major composite indices of older IQ tests (and a key subindex in modern ones). It measures language-based reasoning: vocabulary breadth, verbal comprehension, verbal analogies, general information, and arithmetic word problems.
What verbal IQ actually measures
→Pause. Find out YOUR IQ before you keep reading.The classic verbal IQ index drew from subtests like:
- Vocabulary — definitions of progressively rare words
- Similarities — abstract conceptual relationships ("how are a poem and a statue alike?")
- Information — general knowledge questions
- Arithmetic — word problems requiring verbal processing of numerical relationships
- Comprehension — social reasoning questions
How it relates to overall IQ
→Curious how YOU score? 20-min calibrated test.Verbal IQ is one of the most heavily g-loaded composite indices — meaning it correlates very strongly with overall intelligence. A high verbal IQ is the best single predictor of academic achievement, professional success, and lifetime earnings of any narrow IQ component.
Verbal vs performance IQ
→The numbers above? Find out where YOU land.Older Wechsler tests (WAIS-R, WAIS-III) split IQ into verbal IQ and performance IQ (spatial/perceptual). Modern WAIS-IV replaced this binary with four indices: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed.
Related concepts
→Knowing about IQ ≠ knowing yours. Take the test.- Fluid Intelligence
- Crystallised Intelligence
- The g-factor (general intelligence)
- The Flynn Effect
- Performance IQ