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Wednesday, August 30th, 2017

Western IQs drop by 14 points in last century, study says

Author:     Sarah Wolfe
Source:     Public Radio International
Publication Date:     May 25, 2013 · 2:13 AM UTC
 Link: Western IQs drop by 14 points in last century, study says
Stephan:     This should serve as a wake-up call, but I don't think we are smart enough to hear what this research is telling us.

• Simple reaction time has slowed since 1889.

• Psychometric meta-analysis reveals a decline in g of − 1.16 points per decade. • The decline between 1889 and 2004 is − 13.35 points. • The decline between 1889 and 2004 is − 12.45 points. • This is the first direct measurement of a probable dysgenic trend in IQ.   Citation:  Woodley M, Nijenhuis, Murphy R. Were the Victorians cleverer than us? The decline in general intelligence estimated from a meta-analysis of the slowing of simple reaction time. Intelligence. Volume 41, Issue 6, November–December 2013, Pages 843-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2013.04.006.

A new study shows that a diabetes drug helps to regrow brain cells in humans.
Credit: Matt Cardy

It’s not just you. People really are getting dumber, according to a new study.

Research published online in the journal Intelligence on Thursday claims the IQ of people in Western nations has fallen by an average of 14.1 points over the past century.

Scientists in Europe used visual response times recorded in Western studies from 1889 to 2004.

The idea is, the faster a person reacts, the smarter you supposedly are.

“Simple reaction time measures correlate substantially with measures of general intelligence and are considered elementary measures of cognition,” wrote researchers Michael A. Woodleya of Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Jan te Nijenhuisc of the University of Amsterdam and Raegan Murphy of the University College Cork in Ireland.

Their findings showed a decline in general intelligence of 1.23 points per decade.

So why are we supposedly getting dumber?

Previous research has found that women of higher intelligence are having fewer children, meaning women […]

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1 Comment

  1. sam crespi on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 8:15 am

    Instead of continuing to rise, the numbers show a small decline in the most recent block of years, as compared to the segment before that. I would be interested to see a study on the differences in emotional intelligence when people are under heavy stress, sudden and gradual.