Anonymous wrote:
Personal health and comfort level during the test can change IQ results, but experts disagree as to how much and this probably varies with the individual.
I was just reading about the famous M&M test given decades ago to low-income young children. They were tested first equally, with no incentive. Then the lowest performing group was re-tested and told they would get one M&M for each correct answer. Their score, which was in the low range, shot up to the average range, which was a very significant change.
So if your child is usually prone to marked variations in performance, he could very well have have a better score in a better environment.
If your child is usually a steady sort of person, less likely to be influenced by his environment, then the results are probably a bit more reliable.
We were middle to upper middle income. I was given this test when I was 3 or 4 and didn't want to appear greedy so I only took 1 m and m the entire time I was there. If they had told me that I could have as much as I wanted I would have put my mouth near the opening of the machine where the candy came out and just kept pulling the lever and taken mouths full til the machine was empty. For me it was about instruction, and expectations. Without I was uncertain.