Are People Actually Getting Dumber? Introducing The Reverse Flynn Effect

Recent media coverage examines whether populations are experiencing a decline in intelligence, a phenomenon introduced as the Reverse Flynn Effect. Outlets including the Washington Times, NDTV, ScienceBlog.com, and ScienceAlert have published reports addressing this subject. Specifically, coverage highlights a study of 730,000 Norwegian conscripts which found that the IQ gains observed throughout the twentieth century reversed following the year 1975. According to the reported data, these scores fell by roughly seven points per generation. The reporting places significant emphasis on the findings from this Norwegian conscript study, noting that the research specifically ruled out genetics as a primary cause.

This was achieved by comparing brothers who were raised within the same family environment. ScienceBlog.com and ScienceAlert detail these methodological aspects, while the Washington Times and NDTV frame the broader question of whether society is generally becoming less intelligent based on these observations. Context provided in the coverage establishes a baseline against the historical Flynn Effect, which marked consistent intelligence score increases across the twentieth century. The current reporting focuses on the transition away from those historical gains, highlighting the post-1975 downward trajectory identified in the conscript data. Readers are presented with the shift from generational increases to generational decreases, marking a fundamental change in population-level cognitive score metrics.

As coverage continues to explore the Reverse Flynn Effect, future reports will presumably track additional studies or public discourse surrounding the Norwegian conscript data. Current articles do not yet specify what subsequent research teams intend to investigate regarding the environmental or social factors behind the seven-point generational drop. Observers will need to monitor further publications from the participating outlets to see if additional populations are evaluated for similar cognitive score reversals.