5 ms·

Didn't read the article, but isn't IQ always steady? 100 the average, 130 top 2% etc. Sure intelligence can change, but wouldn't IQ scores adjust to that?

• Nav_Panel 8y ago
  From Wikipedia on the Flynn Effect: "When intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are initially standardized using a sample of test-takers, by convention the average of the test results is set to 100 and their standard deviation is set to 15 or 16 IQ points. When IQ tests are revised, they are again standardized using a new sample of test-takers, usually born more recently than the first. Again, the average result is set to 100. However, when the new test subjects take the older tests, in almost every case their average scores are significantly above 100." I believe the posted study is discussing the reason why this trend of increasing scores might no longer hold.
  • lawlessone 8y ago
    >However, when the new test subjects take the older tests, in almost every case their average scores are significantly above 100." If all these people have tried one IQ test they're likely to perform better on the older tests. just because they have a little more practice.
    • jarfil 8y ago
      Tests are usually not the same, but they are "the same kind", and it is expected that practicing a kind of problem can give an advantage at solving the same kind of problem in the future. It's pretty much a fundamental aspect of learning.
• neolefty 8y ago
  The article doesn't address that, but I have to assume they're talking about non-normalized scores.
• deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
• scottmsul 8y ago
  Scores are defined such that 100 is always the current average. But you can compare results to the actual questions today from a decade ago, and see what IQ people today would have gotten back then. This tells you how much IQ has drifted. IQ used to go up a couple points each decade (known as the Flynn Effect), but this result shows that in more recent times it has been going down.