IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intell/v99y2023ics0160289623000533.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Generational intelligence tests score changes in Spain: Are we asking the right question?

Author

Listed:
  • Colom, Roberto
  • García, Luis F.
  • Shih, Pei Chun
  • Abad, Francisco J.

Abstract

Generational intelligence test score gains have been documented worldwide in the twentieth century. However, recent evidence suggests these increased scores are coming to an end in some world regions. Here we compare two cohorts of university freshmen. The first cohort (n = 311) was assessed in 1991, whereas the second cohort (n = 349) was assessed thirty years later (2022). These cohorts completed the same intelligence battery including eight standardized speeded and power tests tapping reasoning (abstract and quantitative), language (vocabulary, verbal comprehension, and verbal meanings), rote calculation, and visuospatial relations. The results revealed a global gain of 3.5 IQ points but also upward and downward changes at the test level. The 2022 cohort outperformed the 1991 cohort on reasoning (abstract and quantitative), verbal comprehension, and vocabulary, whereas the 1991 cohort outscored the 2022 cohort on rote calculation, visuospatial relations (mental rotation and identical figures), and verbal meanings. These findings are thought to support one key claim made by James Flynn: generational changes on the specific cognitive abilities and skills tapped by standardized tests should be expected without appreciable or substantive changes in the structure of the intelligence construct identified within generations. This main conclusion is discussed with respect to theoretical causal implications putatively derived from current intelligence psychometric models.

Suggested Citation

  • Colom, Roberto & García, Luis F. & Shih, Pei Chun & Abad, Francisco J., 2023. "Generational intelligence tests score changes in Spain: Are we asking the right question?," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intell:v:99:y:2023:i:c:s0160289623000533
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2023.101772
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000533
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intell.2023.101772?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Golino, Hudson F. & Demetriou, Andreas, 2017. "Estimating the dimensionality of intelligence like data using Exploratory Graph Analysis," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 54-70.
    2. Flynn, James R., 2018. "Reflections about intelligence over 40 years," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 73-83.
    3. Flynn, James R. & Shayer, Michael, 2018. "IQ decline and Piaget: Does the rot start at the top?," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 112-121.
    4. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    5. J. A. Anguera & J. Boccanfuso & J. L. Rintoul & O. Al-Hashimi & F. Faraji & J. Janowich & E. Kong & Y. Larraburo & C. Rolle & E. Johnston & A. Gazzaley, 2013. "Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults," Nature, Nature, vol. 501(7465), pages 97-101, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rodgers, Joseph Lee, 2023. "Eleven articles and 27 authors pay tribute to James Flynn: A summary and critique of special issue articles on the Flynn effect," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kan, Kees-Jan & van der Maas, Han L.J. & Levine, Stephen Z., 2019. "Extending psychometric network analysis: Empirical evidence against g in favor of mutualism?," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 52-62.
    2. Md. Mominur Rahman & Bilkis Akhter, 2021. "The impact of investment in human capital on bank performance: evidence from Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. César Merino-Soto & Gina Chávez-Ventura & Verónica López-Fernández & Guillermo M. Chans & Filiberto Toledano-Toledano, 2022. "Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L): Psychometric and Measurement Invariance Evidence in Peruvian Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Nathaniel Oliver Iotti & Damiano Menin & Tomas Jungert, 2022. "Early Adolescents’ Motivations to Defend Victims of Cyberbullying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-9, July.
    5. Christoph Dworschak, 2024. "Bias mitigation in empirical peace and conflict studies: A short primer on posttreatment variables," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 462-476, May.
    6. Andreea-Ionela Puiu & Anca Monica Ardeleanu & Camelia Cojocaru & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Exploring the Effect of Status Quo, Innovativeness, and Involvement Tendencies on Luxury Fashion Innovations: The Mediation Role of Status Consumption," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, May.
    7. Slupphaug, KJell & Mehmetoglu, Mehmet & Mittner, Matthias, 2024. "modsem: An R package for estimating latent interactions and quadratic effects," OSF Preprints h3rpw, Center for Open Science.
    8. Allen, Jaime & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2019. "On evasion behaviour in public transport: Dissatisfaction or contagion?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 626-651.
    9. Merkle, Edgar C. & Steyvers, Mark & Mellers, Barbara & Tetlock, Philip E., 2017. "A neglected dimension of good forecasting judgment: The questions we choose also matter," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 817-832.
    10. Sai-fu Fung & Esther Oi-wah Chow & Chau-kiu Cheung, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of a Brief Wisdom Development Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-14, April.
    11. Dang Vu, Hoai Nam & Nielsen, Martin Reinhardt, 2022. "Understanding determinants of the intention to buy rhino horn in Vietnam through the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    12. Georges Steffgen & Philipp E. Sischka & Martha Fernandez de Henestrosa, 2020. "The Quality of Work Index and the Quality of Employment Index: A Multidimensional Approach of Job Quality and Its Links to Well-Being at Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-31, October.
    13. Zaitun Mohd Saman & Ab Hamid Siti-Azrin & Azizah Othman & Yee Cheng Kueh, 2021. "The Validity and Reliability of the Malay Version of the Cyberbullying Scale among Secondary School Adolescents in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-12, November.
    14. Dennis Cook, R. & Forzani, Liliana, 2023. "On the role of partial least squares in path analysis for the social sciences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    15. Castaldo, Sandro & Ciacci, Andrea & Penco, Lara, 2023. "Perceived corporate social responsibility and job satisfaction in grocery retail: A comparison between low- and high-productivity stores," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Daniel Hoppe, 2021. "Argument-Based Versus Emotion-Based Videos During the Early Stages of Recruitment: Effects on Perceived Employer Brand Image, Application Intentions, and Positive Word-of-Mouth," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(1), pages 31-47, February.
    17. Chen, Junhong & Nian, Yefan & Gao, Zhifeng, 2022. "Value, Attitude/Belief, and Sustainable Food Consumption," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322485, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Pezzuti, Lina & Tommasi, Marco & Saggino, Aristide & Dawe, James & Lauriola, Marco, 2020. "Gender differences and measurement bias in the assessment of adult intelligence: Evidence from the Italian WAIS-IV and WAIS-R standardizations," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    19. N. Dardenne & B. Pétré & E. Husson & M. Guillaume & A. F. Donneau, 2020. "Assessing Quality of Life in an Obesity Observational Study: a Structural Equation Modeling Approach," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1117-1133, September.
    20. Yunyue YANG & Jie LI & Tomoki SEKIGUCHI, 2018. "Supervisors’Responses to Employee Voice Behavior: An Experimental Study in China and Japan," Discussion papers e-18-006, Graduate School of Economics , Kyoto University.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intell:v:99:y:2023:i:c:s0160289623000533. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/intelligence .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.