Since 1930, scores measuring intelligence quotients (IQs) have been increasing steadily across the globe. James Flynn first discovered this phenomenon in the 1980s in the United States. Ensuing analysis found that it was occurring in virtually every country where such data was collected. This trend is referred to as “the Flynn Effect,” a sustained increase in intelligence test scores worldwide with each passing year. Researchers have devoted a significant amount of study to the effect not only because of its geographic scope, but also because, mysteriously, the annual rise has occurred every year in more or less linear fashion over the past century.
Does this mean we are getting smarter? The definition of “intelligence” is hotly debated, but generally speaking, IQ tests are designed to measure both fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence refers to problem-solving abilities, such as looking for patterns, and using visual cues to solve problems. Crystallized intelligence refers to learned skills, such as math and vocabulary. When IQ tests are administered, the convention is to set the average of the test results to 100, with a standard deviation of 15 to 16 points. The test score distribution is restandardized with every new batch of test-takers, such that the number 100 consistently represents the average score of that year’s test-takers. When younger subjects take older tests, their average score is higher than the previous group’s average: the Flynn Effect. The Flynn Effect is driven more by gains in fluid intelligence than in crystallized intelligence.
While the cause of the Flynn Effect remains a mystery, scientists have been able to rule out some possible causes. The time frame in which these increases have occurred, along with their geographic scope, seem to preclude the cause being genetic (genetic evolution takes a long time to take effect, as it occurs over many generations via reproduction). The Flynn Effect, by contrast, refers to steady increases in measured intelligence over much shorter time frames. Further, the population groups among whom it is occurring, often separated by great distances, do not interact extensively enough for reproduction to lead to shared genetic traits across the groups.
Researchers attempting to identify the cause of the Flynn Effect have therefore been left with what seems to be the only alternative: a changing global culture. Research over the past 30 years has focused on identifying possible causes rooted in culture. These have included improvements in nutrition, education, testing methods, and so forth. Further hypotheses have included increased complexity of social environments, changes in childrearing, advances in technology, and improved test-taking abilities.
A problem that researchers have faced in analyzing possible cultural factors is that the universality of the Flynn Effect seems in contradiction to the nature of culture itself, which by definition varies across time and space. In other words, different characteristics of places and population groups are what create divergence across cultures, and this diversity is a fundamental feature of the human population at large. Culture is different in Brazil than it is in Israel or Australia or Canada. But for cultural factors to be responsible for the Flynn Effect, they must essentially affect people across countries nearly identically. This would seem to be unlikely.
Further, factors such as improved nutrition would seem to affect nutritionally impoverished regions more dramatically than regions where nutritional resources have been stable for decades. In other words, if better nutrition is driving improved fluid intelligence, areas that have seen the most improvement in nutrition should see the largest increase in IQ scores, while in areas where nutritional resources have been widely available for a long time, IQ scores should be leveling off. But this is not the case. Regions with poor nutritional resources and regions with high nutritional resources have both shown steady gains over time, regardless of how nutritional resources have changed.
The mystery of how culture could be causing the Flynn Effect was further complicated by the research of Richard Lynn. Lynn devised a method of investigating just how early the increases in intelligence occurred in the lifetime of children by examining the IQs of newborn infants. He found that infant IQs have also been rising steadily. This would seem to further limit the impact of culture, given that newborns have not yet been subjected to cultural influences.
Now answer the questions.
| P1 | Paragraph 1 |
| S1 | Since 1930, scores measuring intelligence quotients (IQs) have been increasing steadily across the globe. |
| 2 | James Flynn first discovered this phenomenon in the 1980s in the United States. |
| 3 | Ensuing analysis found that it was occurring in virtually every country where such data was collected. |
| 4 | This trend is referred to as “the Flynn Effect,” a sustained increase in intelligence test scores worldwide with each passing year. |
| 5 | Researchers have devoted a significant amount of study to the effect not only because of its geographic scope, but also because, mysteriously, the annual rise has occurred every year in more or less linear fashion over the past century. |
The word “ensuing” in the passage is closest in meaning to
According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true about the Flynn Effect?
| P2 | Paragraph 2 |
| S1 | Does this mean we are getting smarter? |
| 2 | The definition of “intelligence” is hotly debated, but generally speaking, IQ tests are designed to measure both fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. |
| 3 | Fluid intelligence refers to problem-solving abilities, such as looking for patterns, and using visual cues to solve problems. |
| 4 | Crystallized intelligence refers to learned skills, such as math and vocabulary. |
| 5 | When IQ tests are administered, the convention is to set the average of the test results to 100, with a standard deviation of 15 to 16 points. |
| 6 | The test score distribution is restandardized with every new batch of test-takers, such that the number 100 consistently represents the average score of that year’s test-takers. |
| 7 | When younger subjects take older tests, their average score is higher than the previous group’s average: the Flynn Effect.
|
| 8 | The Flynn Effect is driven more by gains in fluid intelligence than in crystallized intelligence.
|
The word “batch” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Which of the following can be inferred about crystallized intelligence from paragraph 2?
| P3 | Paragraph 3 |
| S1 | While the cause of the Flynn Effect remains a mystery, scientists have been able to rule out some possible causes. |
| 2 | The time frame in which these increases have occurred, along with their geographic scope, seem to preclude the cause being genetic (genetic evolution takes a long time to take effect, as it occurs over many generations via reproduction). |
| 3 | The Flynn Effect, by contrast, refers to steady increases in measured intelligence over much shorter time frames. |
| 4 | Further, the population groups among whom it is occurring, often separated by great distances, do not interact extensively enough for reproduction to lead to shared genetic traits across the groups. |
According to paragraph 3, what factors have led researchers to rule out genetics as a cause of the Flynn Effect?
Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the Flynn Effect?
| P4 | Paragraph 4 |
| S1 | Researchers attempting to identify the cause of the Flynn Effect have therefore been left with what seems to be the only alternative: a changing global culture. |
| 2 | Research over the past 30 years has focused on identifying possible causes rooted in culture. |
| 3 | These have included improvements in nutrition, education, testing methods, and so forth. |
| 4 | Further hypotheses have included increased complexity of social environments, changes in childrearing, advances in technology, and improved test-taking abilities. |
Which one of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence of the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
The phrase “rooted in” in the passage is closest in meaning to
According to paragraph 4, why have researchers focused on improvements in nutrition, education, testing methods, and so forth?
| P5 | Paragraph 5 |
| S1 | A problem that researchers have faced in analyzing possible cultural factors is that the universality of the Flynn Effect seems in contradiction to the nature of culture itself, which by definition varies across time and space. |
| 2 | In other words, different characteristics of places and population groups are what create divergence across cultures, and this diversity is a fundamental feature of the human population at large. |
| 3 | Culture is different in Brazil than it is in Israel or Australia or Canada. |
| 4 | But for cultural factors to be responsible for the Flynn Effect, they must essentially affect people across countries nearly identically. |
| 5 | This would seem to be unlikely. |
The word “divergence” in the passage is closest in meaning to
| Paragraphs 5-6 | |
| P5 S4–5 | But for cultural factors to be responsible for the Flynn Effect, they must essentially affect people across countries nearly identically. This would seem to be unlikely. |
| P6 S1–2 | A Further, factors such as improved nutrition would seem to affect nutritionally impoverished regions more dramatically than regions where nutritional resources have been stable for decades. In other words, if better nutrition is driving improved fluid intelligence, areas that have seen the most improvement in nutrition should see the largest increase in IQ scores, while in areas where nutritional resources have been widely available for a long time, IQ scores should be leveling off. |
| 3 | B But this is not the case. |
| 4 | C Regions with poor nutritional resources and regions with high nutritional resources have both shown steady gains over time, regardless of how nutritional resources have changed. |
| End | D |
Look at the part of the passage that is displayed above. The letters [A], [B], [C], and [D] indicate where the following sentence could be added.
For example, the Netherlands (a developed nation with high levels of nutrition generally) would not see as dramatic a rise in IQ scores as would, say, The Gambia or another developing nation.
Where would the sentence best fit?
This passage is developed primarily by
Complete the table below by selecting THREE answer choices that are skills that would be representative of fluid intelligence and TWO that are skills that would be representative of crystallized intelligence.
| Fluid Intelligence | Crystallized Intelligence |
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