Mental Abilities

Question 1

What are mental abilities

Answer 1

Refers to the ability to perform higher order mental processes of reasoning, remembering etc

Question 2

What is the individuals differences approach

Answer 2

Approach to explore how and why mental abilities vary across individuals, instead of focussing on what is common to all individuals

Question 3

Why is intelligence broad

Answer 3

This is because it is really hard to give it a definition - so it encompasses a large concept as a result

Intelligence can pose a circular logic

Question 4

What is intelligence classified as

Answer 4

A construct

Question 5

What is a construct (what are its properties)

Answer 5

It is a theoretical (hypothetical) entity

It can’t be directly observed

It is something we infer from observing behaviour

It’s a tool to help us make sense of observable behaviours

It can be expressed in our behaviours

Question 6

How could a construct be measured

Answer 6

There should be a test developed to operationalise the construct. This test is meant to look at the observable behaviours that we think is part of a construct

Question 7

What is a latent variable

Answer 7

This is the underlying variable which drives behaviours

They are variables which aren’t directly observed but inferred from other variables that are measured

Question 8

What is a manifest variable

Answer 8

These are variables which are observable and directly measurable (i.e. a behaviour occurring)

Question 9

What is an implicit theory of intelligence

Answer 9

These are the beliefs that we might hold about intelligence, which might not necessarily be true

Informal definitions that we have about intelligence which come from people’s personal experiences and cultural backgrounds

I.e. Do you believe intelligence is something that you could change?

Do you think music is part of intelligence? etc.

Question 10

What is the importance of implicit beliefs of intelligence

Answer 10

A belief that intelligence can be changed –> instrumental theorist –> probably better learning outcomes

Opposite for an entity theorist

Question 11

What did Sternberg find when asking general population about what behaviours show intelligence, academic intelligence and evveryday intelligence

Answer 11

Verbal intelligence

Problem solving

Practical intelligence

Question 12

What is an explicit theory of intelligence

Answer 12

These are theories about intelligence that have scientific backing behind them

Formal, scientific theories developed and validated through research. Aims to provide a more objective and comprehensive understanding of intelligence

Question 13

Can explicit theories of intelligence be challenged

Answer 13

Yes. Especially if the measure isn’t good

Question 14

What did Binet try to do in his intellligence test

Answer 14

Tried to assign people a ‘mental age’ - different to their chronical age, and indicative of a person’s ‘intelligence’

Question 15

Explain how Binet’s intelligence test worked

Answer 15

Used a series of reasoning tasks related to everyday problems of life, but involving basic reasoning processes

He tried to isolate natural ability - thus learned skills weren’t tested

An age level was assigned to each reasoning task. This age level was determined by standardising what the majority of ‘normal’ children can do

Question 16

Explain what mental age was

Answer 16

It was a number associated with your performance on a reasoning task.

It was the age assigned to the most difficult task that you could complete

Question 17

What was Binet’s goal

Answer 17

Developed the scale to identify children who required remedial education. Tried to identify struggling students and provide them with education to provide an equal playing field

Question 18

What were Binet’s stipulations to the test

Answer 18

It was a rough test - It might not be accurate because of its measure of an abstract thing

The scores were a practical device - the scores were meant to be used to identify children who needed extra help; its not something for ranking children’s intelligence.

Low scores shouldn’t be used to mark a child as incapable

Question 19

What did H.H. Goddard do to Binet’s test

Answer 19

Decided to use certain scores to rank people as ‘morons’ or ‘idiots’ or assign different labels to people, to determine if they were allowed in America or if they could reproduce

Question 20

What did H.H. Goddard believe

Answer 20

Believed that morons would ruin America, and basically tried to stop propagation of morons by controlling who could give birth and also immigration rules

according to Goddard, morons were unfit for society and should be removed from society either through institutionalization, sterilization, or both.

Question 21

What were the classifications of intelligence

Answer 21

Idiot - Mental age <2

Imbecile - Mental age 3-7

Feebleminded - Mental age 8-12

Moron - Highest functioning mentally retarted

Question 22

What did Lewis Terman do with Binet’s test

Answer 22

Turned it into the Stanford-Binet test which is the normal IQ test we see today, and

Question 23

What was the intelligence quotient (IQ)

Answer 23

Introduced in the stanford-binet test

An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence.

Question 24

Explain what a ratio IQ is and how do you calculate it

Answer 24

Ratio IQ tries to take into account the actual age of participants. I.e. it tries to recognise that a 5 year old with a mental age of 7 is better than a 10 year old with a mental age of 7

This was calculated through:

(mental age / chronological age) x 100

Question 25

WHat were the problems with ratio IQ

Answer 25

Only works if mental age increases proportionately with chronological age (which wwe know isn’t the case)

Difficult to apply to adults - what would an age level typical task be for 43 year olds?, If a 50 year old had a mental age of 25, that means they have an IQ of 50. But this isn’t the case,as a mental age of 25 at that age shoudl be considered pretty good

Question 26

How do you calculate a deviation score

Answer 26

Z = (x - mean) / sd

Question 27

What was the raw standard deviation and mean for the IQ test

Answer 27

15 is raw mean

3 is raw standard deviation

Question 28

Explain deviation IQ

Answer 28

Uses raw scores, frequencies, percentile ranks to come to a z-score. This describes how many standard deviations above or below average you are

Question 29

How does deviation IQ work

Answer 29

IQ score is a rank

It sets an IQ of 100 as the average. It then follows that IQ of 15 is 1 s.d. from the mean. All other scores (those <100, and > 100) reflect how far your score deviates from mean

Ultimately gives the appearance of stability in IQ

Question 30

What is the mean and the standard deviation for deviation IQ - which is whats used now

Answer 30

IQ scores mean the same thing - IQ of 100 is the average, and a score of 15 is considered 1 standard deviation

Question 31

What 4 broad categories does the Stanford-Binet Test try to test

Answer 31

Verbal Reasoning

Abstract/Visual intelligence

Quantitative reasoning

Short term memory

Question 32

What were the standard age scores associated with the standford-binet

Answer 32

Mean = 100, SD = 16 (normally its 15)

Question 33

How was the IQ test attempted to be standardised

Answer 33

Provided standard materials to everyone (four printed cards, blocks etc)

Examiner is highly trained - there are recommendations on seating, precise wording, and mode of query for each examiner

ALso, there is the opportunity for an IQ test to be done in a clinical observation

Question 34

Explain some features of the stanford-binet test

Answer 34

Multiple separate tests, each in increasing order of difficulty

To avoid boredom, tests are intermixed

Testing time is 30-90 minutes

Special purpose batteries available for certain populations

GUidelines for translators etc

Question 35

Explain the general test process of the stanford-binet

Answer 35

Establish a basal and ceiling level for each task (usually start at a point suggested by examinee’s age)

The basal level = four items passed in a row

The ceiling level = three or more out of four consecutive items are failed (discontinue)

Each item response is then scored (pass/fail)

And there is a scaled score which the pass/fails are then converted to

Question 36

Explain what happens in Verbal reasoning: Picture vocabulary

Answer 36

The examinee must be able to describe the word for a certain picture (given pass/fails)

Question 37

Explain what happens in Verbal reasoning: oral vocabulary

Answer 37

The examinee is given a word, and they must be able to describe it

Age and performance on this test determines entry levels of other tests

Question 38

Explain what happens in abstract/visual reasoning: pattern analysis

Answer 38

Rearranging certain objects (?) to form a pattern (they have to replicate a certain set pattern)

Question 39

Explain what happens in abstract/visual reasoning: copying

Answer 39

They have to copy a certain drawing. Pass.fail allocated by certain criteria

Question 40

Explain what happens in short-term memory: Memory for objects

Answer 40

Shown series of common objects and must remember correct objects in correct order

Question 41

Explain what Raven’s progressive Matrices were

Answer 41

Prototypical test of fluid intelligence (broad ability concerned with basic processes that depend only minimally on learning and acculturation)

It is also done in a group setting to help save money (?!)

Question 42

What is the problem with trying to measure intelligence

Answer 42

We don’t know its structure - is there only one factor or multiple factors affecting intelligence scores

Question 43

How can we infer structure of intelligence

Answer 43

We try to infer structure by seeing how the scores correlate with one another

If the scores rise and fall together they are likely linked (correlated)

If they rise and fall independently it suggests that it isn’t correlated and that they aren’t linked

Question 44

Explain what positive, negative and zero correlations look like

Answer 44

Posiitive = one variable increases and the other increases as well

Negative = one variable increases and the other decreases

Zero = no correlation between the variables

Question 45

Explain what a factor analysis of intelligence is

Answer 45

Factor analysis of intelligence is a statistical method used to identify underlying relationships between various cognitive abilities and to determine if they can be grouped into distinct factors. In the context of intelligence research, factor analysis helps psychologists and researchers understand how different types of mental abilities are related and whether they can be represented by broader, underlying “factors” or components of intelligence.

Question 46

WHat were the two observations with a factor analysis of intelligence

Answer 46

All mental abilities correlate with one another to a certain degree (they are all positive)

There seems to be a certain factor which makes the tests 1,2,3 similar between each other, but different to tests 4,5,6 (seems to be multiple clusters of stronger correlations that are only weakly correlated to eaach other - whatever factor is ‘causing’ the correlations between tests 1-3 is different to the factor ‘causing’ the correlations between tests 4-6.

Question 47

What was a possible conclusion about the observation that there is something common underlying all the tests

Answer 47

There could be a certain factor which is common for all intelligence tests

I.e. Spearman’s ‘g’ and a positive manifold

Question 48

What was a possible conclusion about the idea of separate factors underlying performance on tests 1-3 vs on tests 4-6

Answer 48

Maybe tests 1-3 can be classified a certain way, which make it different to tests 4-6 (We can actually see that tests 1-3 are verbal, whereas tests 4-6 are non-verbal)

Question 49

What is positive manifold

Answer 49

Positive manifold is a concept observed in intelligence research, particularly in studies that use factor analysis. It refers to the finding that scores on a wide range of cognitive tests tend to correlate positively with each other. In simpler terms, people who perform well on one cognitive task (like a memory test) are also likely to perform well on other cognitive tasks (such as verbal reasoning, mathematical problems, or spatial reasoning). This pervasive pattern of positive correlations among cognitive tests is known as the “positive manifold.”

Question 50

What is Spearman’s ‘g’ (single factor)

Answer 50

Suggests that there is one factor underlying all the types of tests in an intelligence test

Represents a general intelligence factor that underlies all cognitive abilities

Positive manifold (test scores are all positively correlated with one another)

Could be related to mental speed, memory capacity etc

Question 51

What were thurnstone’s prmary mental abilities (PMA) (Uncorrelated factors)?

What did it describe?

Answer 51

Suggests that primary mental abilities are independent of each other

7 separate areas of mental ability;

Verbal comprehension
Inductive reasoning
Numerical fluency
Word fluency
Spatial ability
Memory
Perceptual speed

Question 52

Explain what happens with correlated factors

Answer 52

Verbal and non-verbal constructs are linked but also separate look at book)

Question 53

What is the Gf-Gc theory

Answer 53

Suggests that there is a general fluid and general crystallised intelligence which makes up our overall intelligence

Question 54

What is General fluid intelligence (Gf)

Answer 54

This is our innate intelligence - our ability to grasp relation between things or deal with novelty

It is culture-free. Or it aims to be culture free but might not be in practice (some cultures are more exposed to greater abstract reasoning –> influence on Gf)

Question 55

What is General crystallised intelligence (Gc)

Answer 55

This refers to acquired knowledge and skills

Requires exposure to culture, formal/informal education

Question 56

What are examples of Gf

Answer 56

Induction
Sequential reasoning
Quantitative reasoning
Temporal tracking
Figural reasoning

Question 57

What are examples of Gc

Answer 57

Verbal comprehension
Cognition of semantic relations
General information
Reading comprehension
Spelling ability
Verbal closure
Phonetic coding
Foreign language aptitude

Question 58

WHat is the evidence that Gf and Gc are different constructs

Answer 58

Both show different developmental trains.

Question 59

What is the progression of Gf and Gc as you get older

Answer 59

Gf rises to young adulthood, and then falls in old age

Gc also rises to young adulthood, and then sort of plateaus (but still increases a bit)

Question 60

What does good psychological assessment depend on

Answer 60

The test needs to be reliable and valid

Question 61

What is reliability? How do we know when something is reliable?

Answer 61

The ability of a test to have similar scores after being repeated.

If a test measures consistent trait in a person, then it should consistently produce the same answer - it shouldn’t be influenced by random fluctuations

If a test is reliable, it should be able to distinguish people who differ on the construct effectively

A reliable test should be able to minimise variance due to random error

Question 62

What is the Classical Test theory

Answer 62

X = T + E

Where X is the observed score, and T is the true score and E is the test error

Question 63

How can we estimate the true score

Answer 63

Take multiple measurements - repeat them indefinitely. The long term mean should be the true score.

Question 64

WHat were potential sources of error in an experiment

Answer 64

Test construction (i.e. choice of stimuli, content of test)

Test administration (variability in examiner and examinee)

Errors in scoring (failure to use ‘rubric’ consistently)

Interpretation subjectivity

Question 65

How can we estimate reliability

Answer 65

Test - retest reliability

Equivalent (alternative)forms of tests

Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha)

Question 66

What does Test-retest reliability involve? What are the flaws

Answer 66

Involves getting an examinee to do a test and then do the test later on.

However, this causes multiple issues such as the person being able to practice more –> practice effects (overestimates reliability)

There could also be some maturation

We also assume that true score doesn’t change, and thus variations in score is reflective of the reliability

Question 67

WHat does Equivalent (alternative) forms of tests involve (how does it estimate reliability)

Answer 67

Involves getting the examinee to do one version of the test, and then doing another version which has the same theme

I.e. show a picture to the individual and spot the difference, but then use a different picture next time the individual is tested

We could also compare two halves of a test (split half correlation); i.e. splitting a test into two halves and measuring how well results from one half correlates with the results from the other half (i.e. split by odd or even questions)

And then compare how the test reliabiltiy goes

Question 68

What is internal consistency (how does it estimate reliability)

Answer 68

If every possible split half correlation was computed, the average is called Cronbach’s alpha - reflects extent to which all items measure the same thing

Question 69

What is systematic error variance? How does it influence reliability and validity?

Answer 69

It is when there is a systematic error in how something is measured/observed etc.

I.e. If a set of scales consistently gives readings 1kg too light, or if assessor constatnly gives an extra mark on everyone’s assessment

This doesn’t reduce the reliability, but it definitely changes the validity

Question 70

What is validity

Answer 70

How well your test measures what you designed it to measure

Also, it is whether the test is used appropriately for its intended use (i.e. if test was developed for adults, it shouldn’t be used for children)

Question 71

What are the different ways of classifying validity

Answer 71

Construct

Content

Convergent

Discriminant

Question 72

What happens if we could repeat measurement indefinitely - what is the long term mean?

Answer 72

The true score

Question 73

What is content validity

Answer 73

Whether the contents of the test accurately represent all aspects of the construct (“coverage of domain”)

Does the test assess behaviour that is representative of the domain of behaviour that we want to measure

I.e. for an academic test to be considered ‘content valid’, it shouldn’t just test one area of a topic, but multiple, in a fair way

Question 74

What is construct validity

Answer 74

How well defined is a construct measured by a test

I.e. if a test is designed to measure self esteem, the test has to genuinely reflect self esteem rather than another concept like self confidence

Question 75

What is convergent validity

Answer 75

If the construct is related to other theoretically similar constructs / theories –> expect high correlation with similar constructs/tests

Question 76

What is discriminant validity

Answer 76

If the construct isn’t related to other constructs –> there shouldn’t be a high correlation with the unrrelated constructs

Question 77

What did Sir Francis Galton suggest

Answer 77

Suggests that success in life is due to genetics

Question 78

What was the ‘proof’ to Galton’s claims - what did he conclude (describe the evidence that IQ is substantially heritable)

Answer 78

He found that prominent people normally had prominent relatives (offsprings, cousins, brothers etc)

The closer the kinship, the more likely the relative is also prominent (e.g. 48% sons, 7% grandsons, and 1% great grandsons of prominent people are prominent) –> concluded that “genius and feeble-mindedness” runs in the families

Question 79

What was the alternative explanation to Galton’s findings

Answer 79

Another explanation could be those who are more prominent have greater wealth, enabling them to get access to education etc –> warps the finding as it enables those children to have greater opportunities

Question 80

Why did researchers use monozygotic twins to determine heritability of mental abilities

Answer 80

Because MZ twins have the exact same genetic composition –> allows for the control of nature, and thus determines role of nurture.

Question 81

What are three basic studies to look at the relative roles of heredity and environment in determining psychological characteristics

Answer 81

Family resemblance studies

Twin and adoption studies

Question 82

Explain how family resemblance studies can contribute to study of heredity

Answer 82

Assumes that if a trait is affected by genetic factors, individuals that are more similar genetically should be more similar with respect to that traitlings should be more similar than the height of two cousins

Question 83

What were the problems associated with family resemblance studies

Answer 83

Genetic relatedness is usually closely linked to similar environmental factors –> difficult to separate environment and genetic factors –> hard to see what influences what (i.e. is it the environment or the genetics which influences something)

At best, they are able to provide info about the combined effects of genetic and environmental influences –> need designs to disentangle genes and the environment

Question 84

Explain how twin and adoption studies can contribute to study of heredity

Answer 84

Twin studies = control for the same nature (genetics). Thus, if twins are separated at birth and raied in different enviros, we could see how the nurture/environment influences the development of an individual

Similarities can be attributed to genetic factors, and differences attributed to environmental factors

Meanwhile for adoption, normally the children have no genetic similarity –> allows for control of nurture, and see impacts of nature (genetics)

Question 85

what are monozygotic and dizygotic twins

Answer 85

MZ = genetically identical people

DZ = 50% of identical genetics

Question 86

What are examples of shared environments

Answer 86

Socioeconomic status

Family climate

Geography

Nutrition

Question 87

What are examples of non-shared environments

Answer 87

Pregnancy

Siblings order

Parental preferene

Peers, school

Illness

Question 88

What were the sources of variability in twin studies

Answer 88

Genes

Shared environment

Non shared environments

Question 89

What is heritability (H)

Answer 89

A population statistic which describes the proportion of total variation in a given characteristics in a given population that can be attributed to genetic differences between members of that population

Question 90

How can heritability be estimated

Answer 90

H = Gv / Pv

Gv = genetic variance, Pv = phenotypic variance

Thus 1-H estimates the combined effects of environmental and residual factors

Best estimated by correlation between monozygotic twins reared apart

Question 91

What does H depend on

Answer 91

The genetic variability of that population

Degree of variation in its environment

If we change any of these, estimated heritability would change

Question 92

What would happen if we change variability in the environment

Answer 92

(i.e. reducing variability by doing uniform in schools) –> increased relative contribution of genetic influences. Behaviours will likely be heritable

Question 93

What would happen if we change variability in genetic contributions

Answer 93

(i.e. reducing variability in genes)

Environment will have a more significant contribution (if we control for genetics)

Question 94

What are the problems associated with calculating heritability estimates

Answer 94

Calculating H assumes that genetic and environmental contributinos are independent. However, this isn’t necessarily true. Genotype-environment correlations and interactions occur

Heritability seems to vary with SES

Age of comparison

Selective placement of adoption

Question 95

Why is genotype - environment correlations and interactions an issue

Answer 95

Genetic predispostitions could lead to certain environments.

For example, artistically gifted children most likely to have artistic parents who provide the genetic makeup and also environment to explore that art more

Question 96

Why is heritability varying with SES an issue

Answer 96

In high SES, there was a higher correlation between MZ twins, compared to low SES. This suggests that having a good SES / enriched environment enhances the realisation of genetic potential

Question 97

Why is age of comparison an issue

Answer 97

COrrelations change from childhood to adulthood - so H could change depending on age it was estimated

Question 98

Why is selective placement of adoption an issue

Answer 98

Normally people who adopt are more likely to be well - off due to the requirements for people who adopt.

Ultimately, it isn’t a random assignment. This could restrict the range and lower correlations between adoptive parents and children which inflate heritability estimates

Question 99

Describe highest concordance rates for an IQ test

Answer 99

Person taking same test twice (87 correlation)

MZ twins reared together (86 correlation)

MZ twins reared apart (76 correlation)

Question 100

Describe lowest concordance rates for an IQ test

Answer 100

Unrelated people living apart (0 correlatiion)

Siblings reared apart (24 correlation)

Parents and children living apart (31 correlation)

Question 101

Can ‘H’ change?

Answer 101

If a trait has high heritability it means that it isn’t greatly affecting by existing environmental differencex experienced in the population

High heritability says nothing about consequences of new environmental manipulations

Question 102

Is ‘H’ a population statistic - what do we have to be wary of because of this

Answer 102

It tells us about average probabilities, but it doesn’t say anything about individual cases

Question 103

What are the assumptions behind ‘H’

Answer 103

Assumes that we can distinguish between Observed data (phenotype - p) and latent causes (which can be genetic and environmental)

in practice this is almost impossible

Question 104

Explain the gender differences in IQ in the past

Answer 104

In the past, women tended to have greater verbal capabilities than men

In the past, men tended to have greater visual/spatial abilities than women

Question 105

What are the gender differences in IQ noow (or general trend nowadays)

Answer 105

However, nowadays the gap in IQ differences is closing, and ultimately the gap in verbal and spatial abilities etc is closing

There is basically no gap now

Question 106

What could explain the past gender differences in IQ

Answer 106

A core explanation could be found in the early childhood of an individual. In their early childhood, boys are normally stereotyped with ‘‘boy toys’’, and girls have ‘‘girl toys’’. However, these toys all promote different things. For example, “boy toys” encourage spatial thinking etc, meanwhile “girl toys” didn’t have that idea of spatial awareness.

Could also be due to cultural/exposure difference or innate biological differences (no evidence yet)

Question 107

WHat are the racial differences in IQ

Answer 107

There is a gap in IQ between white and black americans by about 1 standard deviation (15 IQ points)

Overall: Asian > White > Black in terms of IQ points

However, note that this was largely observed in American culture

Question 108

Why might there be group differences (i.e. gender and race differences)

Answer 108

Genetics

Environment

Question 109

What was the proposition put forward by the Bell Curve

Answer 109

Hernstein and Murray wrote the Bell Curve in 1994.

They argued that racial differences in IQ tests are inherited. So they suggest that it follows from heritability of intelligence

Claimed that even when accounting for environmental differences, there was a ten point difference between black and white americans

They wanted this to be taken into account in schools; suggested that affirmative action is useless, and proposed eliminating welfare policies that encouraged poor women to have babies

Argued that devoting resources to help underprivileged is ultimately useless. ANd that resources should be shifted to support high intelligence students rather than disadvantaged people (such as those of ethnic minorities)

Question 110

WHat were the premises of the Bell Curve (the assumptions which weren’t necessarily true)

Answer 110

There has to be a single number that can define intelligence –> however, intelligence tests might not cover all different abilities

Intelligence must be able to be ranked –> but different people have different strengths and weaknesses

Intelligence can’t be changed –> but it can be through environment

IQ has to be highly heritable –> mixed evidence

Question 111

What were the responses to the ‘bell curve’

Answer 111

A lot of backlash against their claims

Especially claims such as:

Flynn - Not impressed by the findings and argued that the people arrived at conclusions inappropriately

Gould - Takes issue with lack of statistical methods used in this experiemnt

Question 112

What were the results of the APA investigation into the claims from the “Bell Curve”

Answer 112

Found that the bell curve was NOT biased in their findings against social, economic, ethnic or racial groups.

However, there is a difference between the concept of bias vs fairness. Bias is a statistical concept - i.e. Does IQ systematically underestimate the intelligence of certain groups

However, fairness is a social issue –> content of an IQ test might be more familiar to some cultures than others. The test might be considered unfair, but statistically, it is unbiased

Question 113

What was the mindset of different races towards academic success

Answer 113

White = Believed that conspicuous effort in studies was looked down upon, but so was poor achievement

Black = Believed that high achievement was valuable but wasn’t threatened with poor achievement –> studying isn’t a priority

Asian = believed in importance of high achievement, and expected it required sustained effort

Question 114

WHat is stereotype threat

Answer 114

Stereotype threat is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group

This may cause anxiety about performance and thus impact it in a way that conforms to stereotypes

Question 115

Explain the relation between stereotype threat and performance on IQ tests (Steele and Aronson)

Answer 115

They gave Black americans and WHite americans a test to sit. For some of the people, they were told it was an academic test where their performance matters, whereas others were told it was just a test for standardisation

Black Americans performed worse when told it was an academic test - massive difference between them and White Americans. However, the gap was very minimal when told that it was a test for standardisation

Question 116

What is the Flynn effect

Answer 116

This was the observation of a general increase in the IQ scores over generations

Flynn showed that from 1918 to 1995, Americans gained almost 25 IQ points (in raw scores), but SAT scores have fallen. Ultimately a gain of 5-25 points on IQ per generation over multiple countries as well

Increases are in raw scores, which weren’t immediately obvious because mean is recalibrated to 100

Question 117

WHat were potential reasons for the Flynn effect

Answer 117

Evolution (However, it must be too fast for evolution)

Environment (Improved schooling - but most changes occur in tests of fluid intelligence))

Better nutrition (Possibly, but poorer people had the biggest gains in nutritions, but didn’t see big effects on IQ)

Familiarity with tests (possibly, but most tests aren’t too familir)

Question 118

WHat was Flynn’s proposal for the reasons for the Flynn effect

Answer 118

Flynn observed that IQ test score improvements were largely seen in abstract problem solving tests

Thus, he suggested that throguh modernisation, a much larger proportion of eople have become accustomed to abstract concepts

(i.e. What do a dog and a rabbit have in common –> today people are more likely to say both are mammals, which is an abstract concept compared to back then where someone says they have legs)

Ultimately proposes that with modernisation everyone looks at everything with ‘scientific spectacles’ increasing the ability to perceive abstract things –> improvements in the IQ test