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Human Intelligence and Medical Illness

Assessing the Flynn Effect

  • Book
  • © 2009

Overview

Authors:
  1. R. Grant Steen

    1. Chapel Hill, U.S.A.

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  • Examines the global links between the rise in IQ – known as the Flynn Effect – and general human health
  • Assesses whether public health improvements potentially account for the Flynn Effect
  • Details how treatment of common medical problems may result in a substantial IQ rise
  • Explores whether additional and substantial IQ gains are possible in the U.S. and the world
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Human Exceptionality (SSHE)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. Are People Getting Smarter?

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 1-8

  3. Human IQ and Increasing Intelligence

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 9-20

  4. Evolution and Increasing Intelligence

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 21-31

  5. Brain Development and Increasing Intelligence

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 33-44

  6. Environment and Increasing Intelligence

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 45-57

  7. Evidence of Physical Plasticity in Humans

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 59-74

  8. Evidence of Mental Plasticity in Humans

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 75-90

  9. Evidence of Cognitive Plasticity in Humans

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 91-98

  10. Impact of Medical Conditions on Human IQ in the United States

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 99-109

  11. Impact of Medical Conditions on Human IQ Worldwide

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 111-127

  12. Medical Interventions for Cognitive Impairment

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 129-147

  13. Increasing IQ in the United States

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 149-165

  14. Increasing IQ and Social Justice

    • R. Grant Steen
    Pages 167-177

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 179-218
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Keywords

About this book

As critics will note, psychometric tests are deeply flawed. Person-to-person differences in performance on a psychometric test are not informative about many things of great interest. An intelligence quotient (IQ) cannot characterize creativity or w- dom or artistic ability or other forms of specialized knowledge. An IQ test is simply an effort to assess an aptitude for success in the modern world, and individual scores do a mediocre job of predicting individual successes. In the early days of psychology, tests of intelligence were cobbled together with little thought as to validity; instead, the socially powerful sought to validate their power and the prominent to rationalize their success. In recent years, we have ob- ated many of the objections to IQ that were so forcefully noted by Stephen Jay Gould in The Mismeasure of Man. Nevertheless, IQ tests are still flawed and those flaws are hereby acknowledged in principle. Yet, in the analysis that follows, individual IQ test scores are not used; rather, average IQ scores are employed. In many cases – though not all – an average IQ is calculated from a truly enormous sample of people. The most common circ- stance for such large-scale IQ testing is an effort to systematically sample all men of a certain age, to assess their suitability for service in the military. Yet, it is useful and prudent to retain some degree of skepticism about the ability of IQ tests to measure individual aptitudes.

Reviews

From the reviews: “The 218-page volume is divided into 13 chapters on topics … in human intelligence. … Human Intelligence and Medical Illness should be commended for taking an evidence-based approach to the topic of intelligence … . The book is concise, timely, and generally well written. … Overall, Human Intelligence and Medical Illness is a thought-provoking book that is well worth reading. If you are interested in how to improve human intelligence, then this book is for you.” (Richard E. Mayer, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 55 (4), January, 2010) “This book explores the nature of IQ testing, changes that have occurred, and conditions that can impact it. … to provide readers with comprehensive information about intelligence testing, trends, and current literature. … Clinical and school psychologists would find this book interesting, but others working in developmental fields also would find it of use. … This is a superficial review of the intellectual issues presented.” (Christopher J. Graver, Doody’s Review Service, April, 2010)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Chapel Hill, U.S.A.

    R. Grant Steen

About the author

R. Grant Steen has written 5 books and 70 research articles, mostly about the human brain in health and disease. He has been a professor of psychiatry, pediatrics, biomedical engineering, and radiology (brain imaging), and he worked for 20 years in clinical research at various medical schools and hospitals. He earned a Doctorate in Biology from UCLA, held a National Research Service Award at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and he has been a faculty member at the University of Washington, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee, and the University of North Carolina. Dr. Steen now consults and writes about the brain full-time.

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