Is intelligence dependent on your concentration?

The mental functioning of an intelligent person can be significantly impaired by difficulties with concentrating, memory problems, attention to detail, and so on. Concentration, memory, attention to detail, reading and computational ability, and so on are skills in their own right, but they are also manifestations of properly working intelligence in literate people.

Mental illness, anxiety, depression, fear, and so on can and do interfere with mental functioning.

My boyfriend was also diagnosed with schizophrenia and he scored high on an IQ test, even though he has really bad concentration problems. He can't follow plots of movies and he has to re-read passages constantly when he is reading a book. He also needs to edit everything he writes for a long time.

(I also happen to have a high IQ and my concentration is not great.)

So, I wouldn't say that there's a strong connection there. Besides, from what you are writing, it doesn't sound like you have any intellectual deficiencies.

Have you tried any supplements like Omega3, ginko, ginseng... that could improve concentration? Or do you feel more focused when you rest more or are less stressed? Or is it always the same?

I wonder what it feels like to not be able to follow a plot of the movie; my boyfriend looks like he's following, then it turns out he has no idea what is going on. I think his mind can be very active and creative and he has many associations so he is constantly getting distracted. Everything reminds him of something else, so his trains of thoughts are very fast and branch out in all directions.

Because you have schizophrenia you’ll probably appreciate that you have difficulty focusing because you have numerous distractions affecting your ability to deal with ‘the everyday’ others do. Effectively you’re juggling several different ‘mental’ items at once while most others are only trying to handle one or two at once.

The key difference is you have a higher load to deal with than most people. The g factor is mysterious. IQ tests are only an approximate measure of g.

Quoting Wheatley

o intelligent people have good concentration, or is concentration unrelated to intelligence?

distraction is just concentration on something other then whats you think your supposed to be doing

Welcome to the Forum, Dora. :smile:
Quoting Dora

My boyfriend was also diagnosed with schizophrenia and he scored high on an IQ test, even though he has really bad concentration problems. He can't follow plots of movies and he has to re-read passages constantly when he is reading a book. He also needs to edit everything he writes for a long time.

I don't know about my IQ, but your boyfriend sounds a lot like me. :grin:

Quoting Dora

So, I wouldn't say that there's a strong connection there. Besides, from what you are writing, it doesn't sound like you have any intellectual deficiencies.

It is odd. I had many people, including professors, tell me that I am really bright, yet I can be a complete idiot sometimes.

It's interesting that you can score high on an IQ test yet have poor concentration. I would think you would need to be able to concentrate on the IQ questions in order to answer them properly.

Quoting Dora

Have you tried any supplements like Omega3, ginko, ginseng... that could improve concentration? Or do you feel more focused when you rest more or are less stressed? Or is it always the same?

I haven't really tried those supplements. Do they work?

My anxiety or stress can definitely affect my ability to concentrate. I have my usual poor concentration, but when I get really stressed out my mind goes completely blank.

Quoting Dora

I wonder what it feels like to not be able to follow a plot of the movie; my boyfriend looks like he's following, then it turns out he has no idea what is going on.

It's not a good feeling. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of things because of my problems concentrating. I get little to no enjoyment out of movie or TV shows, sometimes I even feel worse watching.

Quoting Dora

I think his mind can be very active and creative and he has many associations so he is constantly getting distracted. Everything reminds him of something else, so his trains of thoughts are very fast and branch out in all directions.

I have the same thing. I used to think that it made me all special and creative that I see the world a little differently than everybody else, but now I don't think it's like an amazing gift. (I can't speak for your boyfriend.)

Quoting I like sushi

Because you have schizophrenia you’ll probably appreciate that you have difficulty focusing because you have numerous distractions affecting your ability to deal with ‘the everyday’ others do.

Funny thing is I don't even know if I have schizophrenia. I've recently changed psychiatrists and the new psychiatrist has removed that diagnoses.

Quoting I like sushi

Effectively you’re juggling several different ‘mental’ items at once while most others are only trying to handle one or two at once.

Yes, and some of those items are completely useless at the moment. For example, I often am extremely focused on the movement of the lips and the facial expression when I should really focus on what the person is actually saying! I can't help it, and it sometimes gets me into deep trouble. :fear:

Quoting I like sushi

The key difference is you have a higher load to deal with than most people.

It's not only that, when I get stressed out my mind goes completely blank and I get stuck, which stresses me out even further. It's like vicious cycle.

Hi Wheatley! .. one thing that you might find interesting, is the relationship between honesty and intelligence. Creativity is one thing, but when it comes to deciding which creative ideas to believe or discard, that is where honesty is key. Intelligence really is just a measurement of how accurately a person can answer a question (ie: truth). That is why most people are actually not that good at discerning truth. They allow their desires to blind them, and hence they are unable to recognise when a person is speaking with a deceitful motive. This aspect of intelligence is really valuable for detective analysis, but there is also that creativity aspect too, for example to imagine the motives of a criminal when those motives don't come naturally to the detective's own way of thinking.

Quoting Wheatley

I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia and can hardly concentrate at all.

Yeah, I used to have that diagnosis. Although, I don't have the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which eventually made my diagnosis be a psychotic disorder. I'm not prone to magical thinking or thought insertion, which are hallmarks of schizophrenia. The ability to concentrate on something for prolonged periods of time is thought to be governed by a very precarious balance between dopamine and glutamate. The two work in concert to facilitate the prefrontal cortex to focus of salient features of some tasks.

Mind you, it's been demonstrated that concomitant use of amphetamines with an antipsychotic, relieve the negative features of schizophrenia without exacerbating the positive ones in regards to the ability to concentrate. Just, don't make that a hasty decision, as Adderall, Dexedrine, and Vyvanse are very psychologically addicting compounds. More so for people with ADD or mixed diagnosis.

Edit: Norepinephrine, is important too; but, drugs like Strattera that boost NE levels in a controlled manner, aren't effective for these sort of issues in people with schizophrenia.