NEW YORK: The average intelligence of the human race has been steadily increasing, scientists have claimed.
In research looking back over IQ tests from the past few decades, they found that the tests were becoming harder – but people were still doing just as well.
But the reasons why people are becoming smarter is not known – with theories including better education and improved medical care.
Carried out by Peera Wongupparaj, Veena Kumari and Robin Morris from Kings College London, they looked specifically at the Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM).
This tasks participants with looking for patterns in an array of shapes – and is thought to be a good measure of intelligence.
In total, more than 200,000 participants from 48 countries over 64 years were studied in the research.
Since 1950, it was found that the average intelligence had risen by the equivalent of 20 IQ points.
‘RPM is a valid and reliable measure of general IQ, Dr Wongupparaj told MailOnline.
‘Also, it is cultural-free test so that it has been widely used for nearly 80 years.’
‘IQ tests are designed to ensure that the average result is always 100, so this is a significant jump,’ the BBC reported.
The research builds on earlier evidence from philosopher and psychologist James Flynn, from the University of Otaga in New Zealand.
He had noticed that IQ tests were getting harder, but people were still getting similar scores on them – which became known as the Flynn Effect.
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