Flynn effect, is intelligence actually increasing?

One of the pieces of hardware which I see very few people bringing up is the desire to work. Hard worker vs lazy couch potato bum is something most people ignore.

Originally posted by Eladar
I wonder if there is much of a difference in nutrition in the US. Is say this because in the US there is a about a 15 difference between self identified whites and blacks. Most of the IQ stuff I've read rates races something like this:

blacks < native americans < whites < east asians

Surely that is largely equivalent to both economic and education levels of the same races in the US? I think it is quite clear that poorer people score lower on IQ tests (on average). I think that many factors play a part in that including nutrition and the amount of eduction that gets passed on from parent to child, but also the amount of stress that the family is under.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Do you think it means intelligence is on the rise or is it a fluke?

I think I should also point out that single children on average are more successful and score higher on IQ tests, and since family sizes are going down, that might be a factor.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Surely that is largely equivalent to both economic and education levels of the same races in the US? I think it is quite clear that poorer people score lower on IQ tests (on average). I think that many factors play a part in that including nutrition and the amount of eduction that gets passed on from parent to child, but also the amount of stress that the family is under.

Even taking into consideration all other factors, there is still a difference in average IQ.

One other thing, education does not bring up IQ according to what I've read. Solving puzzles helps develop intellegence, but academic knowledge does not increase your IQ. Of course that's just what I've read from the APA. Perhaps they are wrong, I don't know.

Originally posted by Eladar
Even taking into consideration all other factors, there is still a difference in average IQ.

One other thing, education does not bring up IQ according to what I've read. Solving puzzles helps develop intellegence, but academic knowledge does not increase your IQ. Of course that's just what I've read from the APA. Perhaps they are wrong, I don't know.

IQ is a test score. Just like any other test it can be prepared for and voila! IQ goes up.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
IQ is a test score. Just like any other test it can be prepared for and voila! IQ goes up.

When an IQ test is studied for, it loses its validity.

Originally posted by sonhouse
I think that goes to show how biased the tests are. There are no differences between Asian brains and Black brains per se but cultural differences abound. Suppose they designed the test around blacks, how to get by in the projects, that kind of thing, how well would an Asian buffered as they are by their family, big kids help little kids with homework, etc. ...[text shortened]... high born white, black, Asian, or Hispanic would do well on that kind of test I can assure you.

If IQ scores do not only reflect an intrinsic and unalterable mental capacity, then the prevailing culture in which one is raised is liable to affect IQ scores. This is because culture, among other things, influences what its members prioritize over time; and that may include or exclude the development of relevant intellectual skills. Such skills require, not only innate talent, but also consistent practice, to emerge. The Flynn effect proves that such skills are very environmentally malleable, with the difference between Blacks and Whites being about the same as some of the generational differences that have been observed. This is good news, and an welcome empirical challenge to the presumptively racist theorizing that has dogged the history of IQ testing, and has given rise to misguided and tragic sterilization policies.

However, I don't think the inference that IQ tests are biased is warranted. On the contrary, I think they do a decent job of indexing a relevant set of intellectual skills. IQ predicts job performance, for example, at about r = .50, according to meta-analyses of relevant studies. It is the varying cultures of Whites, Asians, and Blacks which affect the acquisition of real intellectual skills, and produce different patterns of scoring on such tests.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
IQ is a test score. Just like any other test it can be prepared for and voila! IQ goes up.

But there is a limit to the effects of preparation.

Originally posted by Eladar
When an IQ test is studied for, it loses its validity.

Yup. And guess what? IQ tests are studied for, and widely too.

As for the question in the subject, that's two questions. One is: are IQs actually increasing? Answer: yes. The other is: is intelligence actually increasing? Answer: hard, probably impossible to (dis)prove, but I firmly believe no.
Education level is increasing, and for some very obvious reasons, and that is probably one part of the increase in IQ. But education is not the same thing as intelligent. Rather more importantly, the very common believe that IQ reliably measures intelligence is also bollocks. I should know, I do well at IQ tests...

Richard

The psychologists seem to have numbers that support the fact that IQ tests are valid predictors of future success. Of course it is not 100% and you might be one of those who have a high IQ but don't succeed.

Originally posted by Eladar
When an IQ test is studied for, it loses its validity.

I guess IQ is not a valid model of intelligence then. Changes in IQ aren't meaningful as a measure of genetic intelligence potential. You cannot stop mommies from playing Mozart to their babies and doing whatever else they can to help the child's intellect develop.

That's not true at all. It just means that if you are going to have an IQ test, then you can't study up on the kinds of questions being asked. A vast majority of people do not study for the test, therefore the results would be valid for a vast majority of people.

If the test wasn't valid, then it would not be a valid predictor, which it is.

IQ's are WAY TO HIGHLY overrated of claiming one's intelligence, and is why we are still in a caveman sorta speak era of our capabilities, and WHO we are...

Originally posted by Eladar
That's not true at all. It just means that if you are going to have an IQ test, then you can't study up on the kinds of questions being asked. A vast majority of people do not study for the test, therefore the results would be valid for a vast majority of people.

If the test wasn't valid, then it would not be a valid predictor, which it is.

You can prepare for an IQ test and still have it be an accurate predictor.