What is the normal distribution of IQ scores often referred to?

The normal distribution of IQ scores is commonly referred to as the bell curve because of its distinctive shape. In a bell curve, most of the values cluster around the central peak (the average IQ score), with fewer values appearing as you move away from the center in either direction. This means that the majority of people score near the average of 100, with progressively fewer individuals scoring much lower or much higher.

The bell curve effectively illustrates how individual IQ scores are spread, showing that intelligence, as measured by IQ tests, tends to fall within a predictable range. This distribution is important in psychology because it provides a standard for evaluating cognitive abilities across large populations, illustrating that extremes on either end of the spectrum are less common compared to those around the center.

The other types of graphs mentioned, such as the pyramid graph, scatter plot, and line graph, do not represent distributions of scores in the same way as the bell curve. While each of these graphs serves specific purposes in data visualization, they do not capture the specific pattern that is characteristic of a normal distribution of intelligence scores.