Is Flynn effect still occurring?

Some research suggests that there may be an ongoing reversed Flynn effect, i.e. a decline in IQ scores, in Norway, Denmark, Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and German-speaking countries, a development which appears to have started in the 1990s.

When did the Flynn effect stop?

From the early 1970s, the secular gains in GA were almost exclusively driven by gains on the Raven-like test. However, even the means on this particular test stopped to increase after the mid to late 1990s. It is concluded that the Flynn effect may have come to an end in Norway.

What is the Flynn effect and what does it tell us about the role of genes in intelligence?

According to the Flynn effect theory, the increase in IQ scores can in part be ascribed to improvements in education and better nutrition. In addition, people are reading more, and new technology – computers, Internet – forces people to think more abstractly. All of this leads to an increase in the IQ score.

Can the Flynn effect be reversed?

Turning to the negative Flynn effect, the metareview notes a deceleration of IQ gains in some studies and suggests that these may relate to ( i) decreasing returns to environmental inputs (“saturation”) or ( ii) the “picking up of effects that cause IQ decreases and may ultimately reverse the Flynn effect,” such as dysgenic fertility ( 2 ).

Is the Flynn effect a transient phenomenon?

In recent years, the Flynn effect has weakened and reversed in several Western countries ( 6 ), leading to speculation that the Flynn effect was a transient phenomenon reflecting a boost in IQ from environmental factors that temporarily masked an underlying dysgenic trend ( 2, 6 ).

When did the Flynn effect start and end?

Between the years 1970 to 2009, three decades of these young men (born between 1962 to 1991) were conscripted, resulting in over 730,000 IQ test results. What the results show is that a turning point for the Flynn effect occurred for the post-1975 birth cohorts, equivalent to 7 fewer IQ score points per generation.

Can the Flynn effect be recovered from within-family variation in intelligence?

Using administrative register data with information on family relationships and cognitive ability for three decades of Norwegian male birth cohorts, we show that the increase, turning point, and decline of the Flynn effect can be recovered from within-family variation in intelligence scores.