Research Byte: Studying Intellectual Outliers: Are There Sex Differences, and Are the Smart Getting Smarter?

PT J
AU Wai, J
Putallaz, M
Makel, MC
AF Wai, Jonathan
Putallaz, Martha
Makel, Matthew C.
TI Studying Intellectual Outliers: Are There Sex Differences, and Are the
Smart Getting Smarter?
SO CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
AB By studying samples of intellectual outliers across 30 years,
researchers can leverage right-tail data (i.e., samples at or above the
95th percentile on tests of ability) to uncover missing pieces to two
psychological puzzles: whether there are sex differences in cognitive
abilities among smart people, and whether test scores are rising (a
phenomenon known as the Flynn effect) among smart people. For the first
puzzle, data indicate that the high male-to-female ratio among extremely
high scorers on measures of math ability has decreased dramatically, but
is still likely one factor among many explaining female
underrepresentation in some professions. For the second puzzle, data
indicate that the right tail has risen at a similar rate as the general
(or middle portion of the) distribution; it is thus likely that the
entire curve is rising at a relatively constant rate, consistent with
the Flynn effect, which may explain why a greater number of gifted
students have been identified in recent years. However, the causes for
these gains and whether they reflect real gains in intelligence continue
to remain a mystery. We show how these two puzzles are linked and stress
the importance of paying attention to the entire distribution when
attempting to address some scientific questions.
PD DEC
PY 2012
VL 21
IS 6
BP 382
EP 390
ER