Question

The Wilson family is having a big reunion and four generations of Wilsons are expected to attend. Applying the Flynn effect to this family, we would expect that:

A. the second and third generations of Wilsons would score similarly on a standard IQ test.
B. the first generation of Wilsons would score the highest on a standard IQ test.
C. all four generations would score similarly on a standard IQ test.
D. the fourth generation of Wilsons would score the highest on a standard IQ test.

Answer 1

The correct answer is D. the fourth generation of Wilsons would score the highest on a standard IQ test.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Flynn effect refers to a trend discovered by researcher James Flynn, who after conducting research on the results of IQ tests of several different groups of people all over the world over several decades, found out that there's an increase in IQ scores over time. In other words, younger generations tend to perform better than the previous generations in these intelligence tests. By applying this idea of the Flynn effect to the Wilson family, we would expect that the fourth generation of Wilsons would score the highest on a standard IQ test. Currently, there's no single explanation for the Flynn effect, but researchers point out to environmental factors such as better schooling, better nutrition, improved health, and a social environment that actively stimulates newer generations to improve their performance.