Spearman's hypothesis tested comparing Korean young adults with various other groups of young adults on the items of the Advanced Progressive Matrices.

Jan Te Nijenhuis,Kun Ho Lee,Michael Van Den Hoek,Ekaterina Valueva,Yu Yong Choi

doi:10.1017/s0021932019000026

Abstract

Spearman's hypothesis tested at the subtest level of an IQ battery states that differences between races on the subtests of an IQ battery are a function of the g loadings of these subtests, such that there are small differences between races on subtests with low g loadings and large differences between races on subtests with high g loadings. Jensen (1998) stated that Spearman's hypothesis is a law-like phenomenon. It has also been confirmed many times at the level of items of the Raven's Progressive Matrices. This study hypothesizes that with concern to Spearman's hypothesis, subtests and items function in fundamentally the same way, and tested whether Spearman's hypothesis is confirmed at the item level for White-East Asian comparisons. A group of Korean young adults (N=205) was compared with other groups of young adults from Canada, the US, Russia, Peru and South Africa (total N=4770) who took the Advanced Progressive Matrices. Spearman's hypothesis was strongly confirmed with a sample-size-weighted r with a value of 0.63. Computing the g loadings of the items of the Raven with either the Raven-g or the Wechsler-g led to the same conclusions. Tests of Spearman's hypothesis yielded less-strong outcomes when the 36-item Advanced Progressive Matrices were used than when the 60-item Standard Progressive Matrices were used. There is a substantial correlation between sample size and the outcome of Spearman's hypothesis. So, all four hypotheses were confirmed, showing that a part of the subtest-level nomological net replicates at the item level, strengthening the position that, with concern to Spearman's hypothesis, subtests and items function fundamentally the same. It is concluded that Spearman's hypothesis is still a law-like phenomenon. Detailed suggestions for follow-up research are made.

Highlights

Race differences in intelligence Cavalli-Sforza et al (1994) analysed data for 120 alleles from 43 populations and found ten major ‘clusters’, but traditionally the term ‘race’ is used; their taxonomy is based on the largest number of alleles and the largest number of populations
There are four versions of the Raven: the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) for the ages of 6 years to adulthood; the Coloured Progressive Matrices, an easier version of the test designed for children aged 5 to 12; the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), a harder version of the test designed for older adolescents and adults with higher ability; and the Standard Progressive Matrices Plus (SPM plus), an extended version of the SPM offering more discrimination among more able young adults
Using the g loadings from the Korean datasets it was found that correlations between g and d ranged from 0.23 to 0.74 with a weighted mean score of 0.63 using the APM g score and 0.56 using the K-WAIS g score, based on 36 observations (N = 36)

Summary

Introduction

Race differences in intelligence Cavalli-Sforza et al (1994) analysed data for 120 alleles from 43 populations and found ten major ‘clusters’, but traditionally the term ‘race’ is used; their taxonomy is based on the largest number of alleles and the largest number of populations (see Lynn, 2015, pp. 18–21, for a description of other taxonomies). Race differences in intelligence Cavalli-Sforza et al (1994) analysed data for 120 alleles from 43 populations and found ten major ‘clusters’, but traditionally the term ‘race’ is used; their taxonomy is based on the largest number of alleles and the largest number of populations 21) distinguished between ten races: (1) Bushmen and Pygmies, (2) sub-Saharan Africans, (3) South Asians and North Africans, (4) Europeans, (5) East Asians, (6) Arctic Peoples, (7) Native American Indians, (8) South-east. The South Asians and North Africans include the peoples of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, the Gulf states, the Near East and Turkey. North Africans and South Asians have been traditionally referred to as Caucasians Sub-races (or sub-clusters) can be distinguished – for instance, the sub-Saharan cluster is made up of sub-races of West Africans, Nilotics, Ethiopians and Bantus (Lynn, 2015, p. 57)

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