The mean IQ of Americans: Massive gains 1932 to 1978.

作者：James R. Flynn · 发表于：Psychological Bulletin · 年份：1984 · DOI：10.1037/0033-2909.95.1.29 · 被引用次数：1141 · 研究领域：Cognitive Abilities and Testing

This study shows that every Stanford-Binet and Wechsler standardization sample from 1932 to 1978 established norms of a higher standard than its predecessor. The obvious interpretation of this pattern is that representative samples of Americans did better and better on IQ tests over a period of 46 years, the total gain amounting to a rise in mean IQ of 13.8 points. The implications of this finding are developed: The combination of IQ gains and the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores seems almost inexplicable; obsolete norms have acted as an unrecognized confounding variable in hundreds of studies; and IQ gains of this magnitude pose a serious problem of causal explanation.