Researchers used family and cognitive ability data for Norwegian males born from 1962 to 1991 to examine changes in population IQ over time--an effect known as the Flynn effect--and found that both positive and negative IQ trends in the population were also observed within families, suggesting that environmental factors rather than changing genetic composition of families likely account for most of the change in Norwegian population IQ, findings that challenge alternative hypotheses related to the Flynn effect.
Article #17-18793: "Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused," by Bernt Bratsberg and Ole Rogeberg.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ole Rogeberg, Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research, Oslo, NORWAY; tel: +4795946381; e-mail: <ole.rogeberg@frisch.uio.no>
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