Do IQ Tests Prove Women Smarter Than Men...

Does a new IQ tests study prove that women are truly smarter than men? Lots of women certainly believe they've known this for a while. Of course, there are plenty of men who would beg to differ.

IQ testing expert James Flynn conducted the study, which he will publish in a new book to be released in September. He said, "This improvement is more marked for women than for men because they were disadvantaged in the past."

Another idea he had as to why women have caught up with and even surpassed men on IQ tests during the past 100 years is that women are becoming more intelligent because the have to multitask by raising their children while still pursuing a career. Do you think this could be the explanation for the fact that they are scoring better, or do you think it is the fact that women are no longer disadvantaged in the testing?

Even though women may be smarter than men in IQ tests, there is still a distinct wage gap between the genders, which absolutely does not make sense especially since the testing is an accurate prediction of job performance.

Another thing Flynn found out is that both men's and women's IQs have increased over the past 10 decades. Does this surprise you at all?

Comments: 8

Leigh Ramsey Jul 17, 2012, 8:28am UTC

Interesting. I'd have the see the test parameters--number of study subjects tested, other confounding factors such as parents' education levels and so on--to determine whether I think it's a well-designed study. At this point, it sounds only like a vehicle for the promotion of Flynn's book (also, what is his expertise--does he have a PhD in psychology and experience--peer-reviewed, RCT types of experience--in the clinical setting?). My 2 cents' worth also is that I don't find IQ testing to be predictive of anything in the adult world (certainly not future "success") other than being proficient at taking IQ tests (or, for those who haven't taken them in years, predictive of having been proficient in the past); in my opinion, these tests don't measure critical thinking, artistic or other talent, empathy, honesty, determination/perseverance, compassion, or anything else truly essential to the human condition. To put it another way, in my experience, IQ testing in the adult world provides fodder and feathers only for the obnoxious (and not all are this way) and lonely MENSA types, regardless of gender.

Leigh Ramsey Jul 17, 2012, 8:29am UTC

Fingers faster than mind: make that "I'd have to see"!

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Leigh Ramsey Jul 17, 2012, 8:36am UTC

Also, I'd speculate that multi-tasking isn't the magic bullet (testing biases are possibly a lion's share of the past problem). Anecdotally, my husband multitasks as much as I do, and we know many educated male-female couples with a pretty balanced amount of multitasking. For myself, I've always believed--since the rise of the word and concept of multitasking, anyway--that said multitasking diffuses one's energy and, thus, talent/ability. Maybe some people are fortuitous enough to be experts or talented at several things in life, but for me, it holds at about 2 or 3 things, then it starts to break down. And I don't enjoy being mediocre or poor at something, so ... what's a woman to do?! Finally, I wonder if they have corrected for or taken into account that adult women comprise more of the population in some or most areas, so I'd expect there would be more women than men with higher IQs.

Rachel Dillin Jul 19, 2012, 9:19pm UTC

I agree. It is not a magic bullet lol.

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Rabecca Hypenn Jul 17, 2012, 3:41pm UTC

It's like the sticker on your Local Sheriff's rear bumper: "Attitude is Everything". I have

no clue, so I guess you can say I'm clueless as to what "D.A.R.E" stands for?

Abridgment to what? "Drugs Abuse Resistance Education", ...I don't know...

But anyways, I.Q.'s are nice, but a can-do attitude; courage over fear works best

everytime. `Non omnia possumus omnes`-- We can't do all things -- But Git r' Done !!!

Rabecca Hypenn Jul 17, 2012, 3:56pm UTC

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).

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Rabecca Hypenn Jul 17, 2012, 3:59pm UTC

` Mens sana in corpore sano ` -- A sound mind in a sound body.

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Omar J. Jul 19, 2012, 6:47pm UTC

Nice Article ~

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Do IQ Tests Prove Women Smarter Than Men Because of Multi-Tasking?

Comments: 8

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