Hi Linda. My initial thought in response to your query is that the
data reported in your textbook is based on longitudinal studies. If
correct, then the data would suggest that the same people (when
compared against same-age cohorts) show a slight trend toward
increasing IQ as they get older, with subtle declines after age 40 or
so. You should be able to check the reference that goes along with
your textbook's data to see if it is indeed based on longitudinal research.
-- Mark
At 03:19 PM 4/5/2007, you wrote:
My Lifespan Development text says, in the intelligence chapter, "The
concept of mental age is no longer used . . . individuals receive
scores that reflect how well or how poorly they do as compared with
others of the same age." However, later in the chapter, a graph of
IQ scores over the lifespan indicates a gradual rise in IQ from 16
to about 40, then a gradual decline from 40 through the 80s. A
student pointed out the apparent contradiction here: if IQ scores
are normed by age group, how can we graph the changes from age group
to age group? I was not able to give a good answer (apparently
because I don't have a good answer).
I tried a Google Scholar search. The closest I found was a comment
from a 2002 Psych Review article by Garlick that includes this
quote, " . . mental age . . appeared to cease to develop . . at
about the age of 16 years. Thus, originally, any person older than
16 years was taken to have a chronological age of 16 when
calculating their IQ score." I assume that 16 is not currently the
"norm" for all adults, but still have many questions about how the
norming is done. Is there a relatively brief answer out there in TIPS land?
Linda Tollefsrud
Professor of Psychology
University of Wisconsin - Barron County
1800 College Drive
Rice Lake, WI 54868
(715) 234-8176
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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*********************************
Mark A. Casteel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Penn State York
1031 Edgecomb Ave.
York, PA 17403
(717) 771-4028
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