Flashcards in 34 Age differences in intelligence Deck (10):
How are stability and change defined in intelligence testing?
Stability - consistency in the rank-order of people
Change - difference in the absolute level of a trait
Are intelligence scores stable over time?
Yeah, pretty much. r = .66 in the Scottish Mental Survey.
How do scores on the infant novel object habituation test correlate with IQ?
Children who take longer to grow bored of a novel object have lower IQs.
Is IQ stable among young children?
Actually, no, it's the exception. Because of rapid development before 6-8 years old, IQ at this age is less predictive of IQ later.
What explains the massive decrease of IQ across age groups in cross-sectional studies?
Cohort effects. In 1970 only 20% of people finished high school. Today it's 60%.
What is the size of the Flynn Effect on average?
3 IQ points per decade.
For which groups are cohort effects the largest?
There is evidence that cohort effects are larger for those who grew up without technology (born in 1920s and 1930s)
Does cross-sectional research overestimate or underestimate cognitive decline?
It overestimates cognitive decline.
How might longitudinal data underestimate cognitive decline?
- Because Pps get practice at tests
- Those you can follow up are likely to be high IQ
- Selective attrition - those who die more likely to be low IQ