It's not just Norwegians, that's simply the group that was studied.
We've looked at this before.
Although six months old we're only getting to this because I just heard Professor Flynn was still alive.
(sorry Prof.)
From Norway Today, Dec. 28, 2017:
This study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 11:
Researchers find IQ scores dropping since the 1970s
We've looked at this before.
Although six months old we're only getting to this because I just heard Professor Flynn was still alive.
(sorry Prof.)
From Norway Today, Dec. 28, 2017:
Intelligence is getting lower in all the Scandinavian countries, and the trend is clear in Norway, according to a new study by the IQ measurement’s leading researcher, James Flynn.
After several decades of ever-increasing intelligence in the Nordic countries, the trend has reversed, according to an article in the journal Intelligence.
In Norwegian measurements, there are fewer who reach the top level in both the understanding of words and mathematical understanding, according to the study.And why was I thinking about Flynn?
“This clearly indicates the thinning of those with high cognitive skills,” said James Flynn, the author of the study.
The turning point came around 1995. From around 1950, Norwegians’ IQ increased, but after that, the IQ has fallen by 0.21 points a year, meaning a total of 6.5 points fell from one generation to the next. The trend is similar in Denmark and even stronger in Finland.
It was the New Zealand state scientist Flynn who discovered that intelligence had steadily increased in Scandinavia. He believed that the change was due to more abstract and rational thinking in both school and work life. But now he believes that the quality increase in school has stopped....MORE
This study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 11:
Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally causedFrom Medical Xpress:
Researchers find IQ scores dropping since the 1970s
A pair of researchers with the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway has found that IQ test scores have been slowly dropping over the past several decades. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Bernt Bratsberg and Ole Rogeberg describe their study and the results they found. They also offer some possible explanations for their findings.Previously:
Prior studies have shown that people grew smarter over the first part of last century, as measured by the intelligence quotient—a trend that was dubbed the Flynn effect. Various theories have been proposed to explain this apparent brightening of the human mind, such as better nutrition, health care, education, etc, all factors that might help people grow into smarter adults than they would have otherwise. But, now, according to the researchers in Norway, that trend has ended. Instead of getting smarter, humans have started getting dumber.
The study by the team consisted of analyzing IQ test results from young men entering Norway's national service (compulsory military duty) during the years 1970 to 2009. In all, 730,000 test results were accounted for. In studying the data, the researchers found that scores declined by an average of seven points per generation, a clear reversal of test results going back approximately 70 years....MORE
August 2014
