Did you know that mental age is actually a concept that originated in the field of psychology? In 1905, French psychologist Alfred Binet co-created the first ever intelligence test. When children taking the test scored higher than most other children of the same chronological age, it was said that the high-scorers had a higher mental age than their actual age. If they scored lower, they had a lower mental age. From there, the idea of “mental age” was born!
Nowadays, mental age theory has fallen out of favor with psychologists since it’s overly simplistic and doesn’t take into account individuals’ unique skills and ways of learning. Plus, many people find the concept of mental age to be limiting. After all, people are constantly learning and developing new skills, so telling someone they have a fixed mental age of 20, for example, doesn’t feel very fair or accurate.
Instead, psychologists today aim to use more nuanced, holistic intelligence quotient (IQ) tests that factor in the background of the test taker. And IQ is no longer thought of as fixed. Basically, experts now know that intelligence is complex and multifaceted (and therefore intelligence tests need to be too!).
Unlike the psychology-based mental age tests of the past, our mental age test is just for fun and does not represent your level of intelligence. Instead, think of this test as a fun way to see how similar you are to people in different age groups based on your personality and preferences. And remember: just like your personality can change over time, so can your mental age.