The 'Flynn Effect': How Applicable is it to Longitudinal IQ Assessment of American

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed considerable debate concerning the (FE), which takes it name from James R. Flynn, a political philosopher at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Based largely on Flynn's international investigations, the FE rationale assumes that it is a universal phenomenon for aptitude scores to progressively increase over time, FE advocates have translated their findings into recommendations for broad social and educational reform. Thus Flynn (1999) reports that FE investigations endorse egalitarian ideals and (1) challenge the view that tg is a dominant explanation of human intelligence, (2) support the perspective that environmental factors are far more significant than genetic forces in determining human intelligence, and (3) signal a narrowing of African American - White IQ scores. Key Words: IQ testing, Flynn effect, WAIS-R, WAIS-3, Raven's matrices In an indirect endorsement of the Flynn Effect (FE), the American Psychological Association (APA) sponsored a conference on intelligence; proceedings were later published in The Rising Curve: Long Term Gains in IQ and Related Measures, edited by Ulrich Neisser (1998). According to Neisser this book constitutes a refutation of The Bell Curve (Hernnstein & Murray, 1994) which argued that a close bond exists between IQ, significance of genes to human abilities, upward mobility, and genetic trends. Neisser buttressed his central themes by assuming that increasing IQs can be explained by such environmental interventions as desegregation or forced busing. However, extensive investigations over three decades have failed to document a linkage between forced busing and IQ or achievement benefits (Hanley, 1998; Henry, 1998; Peirce, 1998; Scott, 1983; Williams, 1994). Furthermore, it is to be noted that FE advocates have claimed that Flynn's data indicate a significant narrowing of the black/white IQ gap, but in a personal communication with this author Flynn denies that he detected any significant narrowing of this gap. Inasmuch as FE advocates urge sweeping schooling reforms based on such dubious interventions as school desegregation, further investigations into presumed IQ increments are warranted. A central FE premise is that Without exception whenever the same participants were given both the new test and an older test, they had a higher score on the latter (Flynn, 1999, p. 5).1 Commenting on the FE, Kamphaus (1993, p. 120) notes that actual scores on older tests are lower because an examinee must obtain a higher raw score whenever a test is renormed, in order to secure the same standard score previously secured. Despite extensive acceptance within academic circles, the FE prompts unanswered questions. Various researchers have expressed surprise that IQs progressively increase at a time of declining achievement trends (Begley, 1996; Flynn, 1996; Williams & Ceci, 1997). Commonsense suggests that if IQs increase, achievement profiles should follow suit, given high correlations between aptitude and achievement scores. At least seven other issues concerning validity of the FE require clarification. 1. Flynn (1999, p. 8) acknowledges that verbal IQ and achievement test changes over time are small or nil in the United States and other English speaking countries. In asmuch as personal and vocational success is closely linked to verbal aptitude and academic competencies, Flynn's statement casts doubt as to the direct meaning of the FE to American educational reform such as proposed by Neisser (1998) and Flynn (1999). 2. The substantial reliance of FE on general fluid intelligence or Gf introduces a limitation in terms of longitudinal learning profiles and practical significance. Flynn (1998, p. 8; Kaufman, 1990, p. 217) attributes two-thirds of FE aptitude gains to the Raven's Matrices (RM) which is heavily influenced by Gf, and significantly less than that to gains in verbal measures which are closely associated with crystallized intelligence (Gc). …