Putting the Flynn effect under the microscope: Item-level patterns in NLSYC PIAT-math scores, 1986–2004

Joseph Lee Rodgers, Linda Wänström and Siew Ang

Intelligence, 2025, vol. 109, issue C

Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated the existence of a Flynn effect in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Children (NLSYC) responses to the PIAT-Math instrument. The PIAT-Math is at least partially linked to fluid intelligence, whereas other scales in the NLSYC – PIAT-Reading Recognition, PIAT-Reading Comprehension, the PPVT, and Digit Span – are primarily based on crystallized intelligence; these scales showed little or no Flynn effect in the NLSYC. We put the 84 PIAT-Math items “under the microscope” by evaluating the Flynn effect in relation to each item, and measured the Flynn effect by computing a slope across birth-year cohorts, using nine different age replications. Following, we use expert ratings of the items on eight different features – visual matching, recall/memory, computation/estimation, spatial visualization, real-world reasoning, manipulation of geometry, solving algebra, and counting – to identify what features are important in producing the Flynn effect. The highest correlations obtain for the links between the Flynn effect and the features real-world reasoning, counting and computation/estimation. There is a negative correlation between item-level Flynn effects and the features manipulation of geometry, solving algebra, and recall/memory. These results support previous findings ephasizing the role that fluid intelligence plays in relation to the Flynn effect.

Keywords: Flynn effect; Item level; Fluid intelligence; NLSY (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289624000916
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:intell:v:109:y:2025:i:c:s0160289624000916

DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2024.101897

Access Statistics for this article

Intelligence is currently edited by R.J. Haier

More articles in Intelligence from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().