According to a study published in Science Direct, the IQ of younger generations has shown a decline from previous generations for the first time in decades. The research takes as a reference IQ tests that have been conducted on sample populations from 1946 up to 2019.
The Flynn Effect
The measurement of intelligence is a metric that has caused a great number of fierce debates, since today more than ever we know that cognitive processes are not homogeneous for the entire population. At least pedagogically, we have tried to raise our voices so as not to fall into false standards of intelligence; however, research continues to take the IQ -also known as Intelligence Quotient– as a metric to observe the evolution of cognitive development in different areas.
One of the perspectives that take IQ as an important factor is the so-called Flynn effect, which describes how IQ has been increasing periodically since 1932 with a curve of 3 to 5 points higher in IQ for each decade. In other words, according to the Flynn effect, younger generations are expected to have higher IQ scores than the previous generation.
In that sense, if you assess a sample population of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) when they were 20 years old and compare their scores on the same test with a sample of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) assessed at age 20, you would expect the latter group’s IQ scores to be between 0.66 and 1.1 points higher.
Experts clarify that this does not necessarily indicate that Millennials are smarter than Baby Boomers, “but rather that there is a difference in scores that favors the younger generation.” There are two factors in which intelligence is divided according to this study: fluid and crystallized reasoning. The former refers to abstract reasoning and problem-solving ability, while the latter is cumulative knowledge over a lifetime.
According to the research results, it is likely that the variation in IQ scores between generations is due to fluid reasoning, probably related to the social technological context.
A Decrease in IQ
Although the Flynn effect establishes a positive curve and an increase in IQ periodically for each decade or generation, it appears that this curve is flattening. The most recent analysis suggests that for the first time, there is a reversal in recorded IQs: “Research and meta-analyses conducted over the past two decades suggest that the Flynn Effect has already plateaued or begun to recede,” the authors explain.
Does this mean we are losing intelligence? Not necessarily, as the study makes clear. While it is appealing to think that each generation has a higher IQ than the last, it is also logical to think that the gains will someday plateau, and Flynn himself had already made this clear. According to estimates, IQ may have entered an inverse Flynn effect since 2004, the year after which IQ plateaued.
The inverse curve of IQ levels seems not to be a sign of intelligence loss and, in fact, is not worrisome to the researchers; on the contrary, it was an expected estimate. However, this is only a metric for analyzing certain types of possibly overlapping cognitive processes, so it is not a reliable representation of the current state of collective intelligence.
Story written in Spanish by Alejandra Martínez in Ecoosfera
