Culture Notes：

Inside View

Grades in some British universities are given using the Greek letters alpha (very good), beta (acceptable) and gamma (not very good). In addition, the grades can be modified by giving a plus(+), a double plus(++) or a minus (-) and a double minus(--). Alpha minus suggests that there are some improvements which can be made to the essay, but overall it is very good.

 Outside View                                    

IQ: Intelligence Quotient  

EQ: Emotional Quotient

Some psychologists assume there is a general intelligence factor underlying such abilities as abstraction, learning and dealing with novelty.  IQ is a measure of intelligence related to age (100 times the mental age --- measured by a standardized  test --- divided by the chrological age).

Some tests measure verbal reasoning, others non-verbal reasoning. However, IQ tests are inevitably biased to the society and culture of those who made the tests. 

The more recent idea of “multiple intelligences” is a more flexible and eclectic idea that there are a number of different kinds of intelligence (seven to nine), including verbal (linguistic), musical, logical (mathematical), and interpersonal or emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is a concept that relates emotions to thinking. Psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey discussed  “emotional intelligence” in 1990 as “the ability to monitor one's own and other's feelings and emotions and use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.” Some business and other organizations now use EQ tests before they offer potential employees a job, because they believe such tests give information about social skills, motivation and empathy.