1 / 8

Flynn Effect 1: Empirical Puzzle

Flynn Effect 1: Empirical Puzzle . Linda S. Gottfredson, PhD School of Education University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716. Schelling Symposium, “What is Intelligence?,” University of Maryland, November 19, 2007. 3 premature claims—they don’t fit the full pattern of evidence.

kezia
Download Presentation

Flynn Effect 1: Empirical Puzzle

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Flynn Effect 1: Empirical Puzzle Linda S. Gottfredson, PhD School of Education University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 Schelling Symposium, “What is Intelligence?,” University of Maryland, November 19, 2007

  2. 3 premature claims—they don’t fit the full pattern of evidence • IQ rise = rise in general intelligence (general learning & reasoning ability, or g) • IQ rise caused by cultural change (donning “scientific spectacles”) • IQ rise cannot be genetic

  3. IQ tests don’t measure level or amount of anything • IQ = deviation score (standing within age group) • IQ score has no intrinsic meaning Example of Flynn effect—13-year-olds now score like 16-year-olds once x Ravens Raw score x 5 more items correct =15 IQ points 27 39 47 54 59 z: -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0 1.0 2.0 3.0 IQ: 55 70 85 100 115 130145

  4. Some subtests increase, others notNo necessary effect on positive manifold (g) No necessary effect on heritabilityNo paradox raw: %ile 1 15 50 85 99 Arithmetic Similarities Vocabulary IQ scores have risen a lot, but has general intelligence? Information Coding z: -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0 1.0 2.0 3.0 IQ: 55 70 85 100 115 130145

  5. Sample IQ Items—Manifest Content Irrelevant to g Infer the rule More abstract Complexity is the active ingredient: More complex tasks are more “g loaded” % = % of 16-65 year-olds getting at least partial credit for answer, WAIS, 1955

  6. IQ increases strictly cultural? • Trends in height mirror trends in IQ • Height trend (and paradoxes) cannot be explained by: • Wearing scientific spectacles • Individual multiplier (any genetic advantage triggers environmental ratcheting of all) • Social multipliers (group means influence growth) • Biology cannot be ruled out for IQ trends

  7. IQ/height trends strictly non-genetic? • Many claims, but little evidence • Family studies (showing high heritability, no shared effects) cannot be divorced from Flynn effect • Cultural diffusion is not regular, uniform, pervasive • Are gains within or just between families? • Heterosis predicts none within families Current hypotheses interesting, but causal mechanisms vague & post hoc Sibships or cousins O O O O O O O O O O O O OO O O O 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

  8. Thank you

More Related