Abstract
The only real evidence we have that childhood intelligence is increasing is that scores on tests of intelligence are increasing. But what if the tests are wrong? What if tests are a poor measure of intelligence or do not measure it at all? Could it be that the standardized tests so widely used do not measure our ability to learn, but rather measure how much we have already learned? We have defined intelligence as the ability to solve problems, but virtually any problem that is posed assumes some degree of prior knowledge. For example, most adult IQ tests presuppose that test takers know how to read. Many intelligence tests use analogies (“Finger is to hand as X is to foot”) to test logical ability, but analogies indirectly test whether a subject has an adequate vocabulary. Similarly, no one could use mathematical reasoning skills unless they have prior knowledge about numbers, and how to use them. Even a brilliant person who is not a native English speaker might perform rather poorly in a timed test given in English – and many IQ tests are timed. We have postulated three technical hypotheses that could potentially explain the Flynn effect, all of which contend that intelligence tests somehow mismeasure intelligence. But before we explore these hypotheses in depth, it is important to shed some light on the tests themselves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Steen, R. G. (1996). DNA & Destiny: Nature and Nurture in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum. 259 pp.
Flynn, J. (1984). The mean IQ of Americans: Massive gains 1932 to 1978. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 29–51.
Prifitera, A., Weiss, L. G., & Saklofske, D. H. (1998). The WISC-III in context. In A. Prifitera & D. Saklofske (Eds.), WISC-III Clinical Use and Interpretation: Scientist-Practitioner Perspectives (pp. 1–38). New York: Academic.
Flynn, J. R. (1998). Israeli military IQ tests: Gender differences small; IQ gains large. Journal of Biosocial Science, 30, 541–553.
Randhawa, B. S. (1980). Change in intelligence and academic skills of grades four and seven pupils over a twenty-year period. 22nd International Congress of Psychology. Leipzig, East Germany.
de Leeuw, J., & Meester, A. C. (1984). Over het intelligence-onderzoek bijde militaire keuringer vanaf 1925 tot heden [Intelligence-as tested at selections for the military service from 1925 to the present]. Mens en Maatschappij, 59, 5–26.
Rist, T. (1982). Det Intellektuelle Prestasjonsnivaet i Befolkningen Sett I lys av den Samfunns-Messige Utviklinga [The level of the intellectual performance of the population seen in the light of developments in the community]. Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Armed Forces Psychology Service.
Teasdale, T. W., & Owen, D. R. (2000). Forty-year secular trends in cognitive abilities. Intelligence, 28, 115–120.
Bouvier, U. (1969). Evolution des cotes a quelques tests [Evolution of scores from several tests]. Brussels, Belgium: Belgian Armed Forces, Center for Research into Human Traits.
Elley, W. B. (1969). Changes in mental ability in New Zealand school-children. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 4, 140–155.
Clarke, S. C. T., Nyberg, V., & Worth, W. H. (1978). Technical report on Edmonton Grade III achievement: 1956–1977 comparisons. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta.
Uttl, B., & Van Alstine, C. L. (2003). Rising verbal intelligence scores: Implications for research and clinical practice. Psychology and Aging, 18, 616–621.
Vroon, P. A., de Leeuw, J., & Meester, A. C. (1984). Correlations between the intelligence levels of fathers and sons. In J. R. Flynn (Ed.), Utrecht, The Netherlands: Department of Theoretical Psychology and History of Psychology.
Colom, R., & Garcia-Lopez, O. (2003). Secular gains in fluid intelligence: Evidence from the culture-fair intelligence test. Journal of Biosocial Science, 35, 33–39.
Lynn, R., Hampson, S. L., & Mullineux, J. C. (1987). A long-term increase in the fluid intelligence of English children. Nature, 328, 797.
Daley, T. C., et al. (2003). IQ on the rise: The Flynn effect in rural Kenyan children. Psychological Science, 14, 215–219.
Fuggle, P. W., et al. (1992). Rising IQ scores in British children: Recent evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33, 1241–1247.
Girod, M., & Allaume, G. (1976). L’evolution du niveau intellectuel de la population francaise pendent le dernier quart de siecle [The evolution of the intellectual level of the French population during the last quarter century]. International Review of Applied Psychology, 25, 121–123.
Steen, R. G. (2007). The Evolving Brain: The Known and the Unknown (p. 427). New York: Prometheus Books.
Gould, S. J. (1981). The Mismeasurement of Man. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. 352 pp.
Detterman, D. K., & Thompson, L. A. (1997). What is so special about special education? The American Psychologist, 52, 1082–1090.
Brand, C. (1987). Intelligence testing: Bryter still and bryter? Nature, 328, 110.
Daley, T. C., et al. (2003). IQ on the rise: The Flynn effect in rural Kenyan children. Psychological Science, 14, 215–219.
Steen, R. G. (1996). DNA & Destiny: Nature and Nurture in Human Behavior (p. 295). New York: Plenum.
Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 171–191.
Carpenter, P. A., Just, M. A., & Shell, P. (1990). What one intelligence test measures: A theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. Psychological Review, 97, 404–431.
Duncan, J., & Owen, A. M. (2000). Common regions of the human frontal lobe recruited by diverse cognitive demands. Trends in Neurosciences, 23, 475–483.
Flynn, J. R. (1998). Israeli military IQ tests: Gender differences small; IQ gains large. Journal of Biosocial Science, 30, 541–553.
Teasdale, T. W., & Owen, D. R. (2000). Forty-year secular trends in cognitive abilities. Intelligence, 28, 115–120.
Teasdale, T. W., & Owen, D. R. (1987). National secular trends in intelligence and education: A twenty-year cross-sectional study. Nature, 325, 119–121.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Steen, R.G. (2010). Human IQ and Increasing Intelligence. In: Human Intelligence and Medical Illness. The Springer Series on Human Exceptionality. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0092-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0092-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0091-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0092-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)