When applied intelligence tests into industry, some of the testing limitation should be fully understood in order to make the testing more prevalent. There are some limitations of the testing. An important limitation of intelligence tests is that, for the most part, they are not concerned with the underlying processes involved in problem solving. They focus on the final product or outcome rather than on the steps involved in reaching the outcome. They look at the “what ” rather than the “how” Thus, a low score on Arithmetic might result from poor attention, difficulty understanding the examiner because of disturbances in comprehension, or low educational attainment.A further concern about intelligence tests involves their limited usefulness in assessing minority groups with divergent cultural backgrounds. It has been stated that intelligence-test content is biased in favor of European American, middle-class values. Critics stress that minorities tend to be at a disadvantage when taking the tests because of deficiencies in motivation, lack of practice, lack of familiarity with culturally loaded items, and difficulties in establishing rapport. Numerous arguments against using intelligence tests for the assessment and placement of minorities have culminated in legal restrictions on the use of IQ scores.
Intelligence tests provide a number of useful and well-respected functions. They can adequately predict short-term scholastic performance; assess an individual’s relative strengths and weaknesses; predict occupational achievement; reveal important personality variables; and permit the researcher, educator, or clinician to trace possible changes in an individual or population. However, these assets are helpful only if the limitations of intelligence tests are adequately understood and appropriately taken into consideration. They are limited in predicting certain aspects of occupational success and nonacademic skills, such as creativity, motivational level, social acumen, and success in dealing with people. Furthermore, IQ scores are not measures of an innate, fixed ability, and their use in classifying minority groups has been questioned. Finally, there has been an overemphasis on understanding the end product of cognitive functioning and a relative neglect in appreciating underlying cognitive processes.