The belief that firstborn children are smarter than their younger siblings is one of the most persistent ideas in folk psychology. Parents joke about it, media repeats it, and surprisingly, the research largely supports it — though the effect is far smaller than most people assume and the reasons behind …
The Flynn Effect: Are Humans Getting Smarter — or Dumber?
In 1984, political scientist James Flynn published a finding that would reshape how we think about intelligence: IQ scores had been rising steadily across the developed world for as long as records existed. The gains averaged roughly 3 points per decade — meaning the average person today would score in …
Can You Actually Increase Your IQ? What the Research Shows
Few questions in psychology generate as much debate as whether intelligence is fixed or malleable. The idea that IQ is set in stone — hardwired by genetics and sealed by early childhood — persists in popular culture, but the scientific picture is considerably more nuanced. Decades of research show that …
Analyzing Trends in the Flynn Effect
The Flynn effect, which refers to the steady rise in intelligence test scores observed over decades, has been a subject of significant interest in psychological research. While this phenomenon has been extensively documented in European populations, fewer studies have explored its presence or reversal in the United States, especially among …