Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each proposed cause by whether it is a plausible explanation of the Flynn effect or NOT.
Groups: Plausible cause of the Flynn effect · NOT a plausible cause
- Tests getting secretly easier each year
- Improved nutrition
- Greater familiarity with abstract test-taking
- Rapid genetic change across a few generations
- More years of schooling
Hints
- Genes change far too slowly to explain a rise this fast, and re-norming (not easier tests) keeps the mean at 100.
- Environmental improvements are the plausible drivers.
Show the answer
Plausible cause of the Flynn effect: Improved nutrition, More years of schooling, Greater familiarity with abstract test-taking
NOT a plausible cause: Rapid genetic change across a few generations, Tests getting secretly easier each year
Why
Nutrition, schooling, and test-taking familiarity are plausible environmental drivers; rapid genetic change is ruled out (genes change too slowly), and the tests are re-normed, not secretly eased. The Flynn effect points to environment, not genes.
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