Intelligence II

Question 1

What did Flynn (1987,1994) show?

Answer 1

IQ was increasing year on year in all parts of the world at about 3 points per decade

Question 2

What intelligence rose more than another?

Answer 2

Fluid (non-verbal) over crystallised (verbal)

Question 3

What did Flynn favour in terms of explanation?

Answer 3

Environmental explanation - too rapid to be genetic

Question 4

What 5 environmental influences did Neisser (1998) suggest to explain the Flynn effect?

Answer 4

• Schooling
• Test taking sophistication
• Parenting styles
• Visual and technical environment
• Nutrition

Question 5

What two key hypothesis have been compared?

Answer 5

Cognitive stimulation hypothesis (if true, would be a rise in IQ test scores across generation at all levels of IQ) and the Nutrition hypothesis (if true, rises would mainly occur at lower end of distribution of IQ scores, where nutritional deprivaton is most severe)

Question 6

What did Trahan et al (2014) observe?

Answer 6

• 286 studies (meta analysis)
• Supported previous estimates of Flynn Effect across diff. ages, measures and samples, and levels of performance
• Highlighted meausrement issues - need for new normative scores

Question 7

What does evidence suggest about group differences?

Answer 7

Small cultural and ethnic variations in mean IQ scores but largest variation lies within groups

Question 8

Why was the APA Intelligence Taskforce created (1996) ?

Answer 8

Response to controversy and debate around ‘The Bell Curve’

Question 9

What does the APA IT investigate?

Answer 9

• Concepts of intelligence
• Intelligence tests and their correlates
• Genes and intelligence
• Environmental effects on intelligence
• Group differences

Question 10

What were the key findings of the Task Force?

Answer 10

• Differences in gnese contributed to ID in psychometric intelligence
• Mean scores on intelligence tests are rising steadily
• Environmental factors contribute substantially to the development of intelligence

Question 11

What was founf with IQ tests and school performance?

Answer 11

Correlation between IQ scores and grades is about 0.5

Question 12

What personal and social factors predict academic performance?

Answer 12

• Association between parental socioeconomic status and school performance (around .35)
• Some concerns that IQ tests could create self-fulfilling prophecies
• Links between IQ and AP decrease as students move higher up in academia - personality more critical

Question 13

What has research linked IQ to?

Answer 13

• Health
• Alcohol use/abuse
• Risky sexual behaviours
• Educational achievement
• Financial success
• Criminal behaviours

Question 14

What did a longitudinal study on twins find?

Answer 14

Between-twin IQ differences only associated with differences in income, poor diet choices and parental dissatisfaction - not with health, alcohol use or sexual behaviour