Abstract

Vocabulary test score trends from the General Social Survey contradict the widespread conclusion that scores on standardized intelligence tests have systematically increased over the past century. We use a vocabulary test included in 20 nationally representative surveys administered since 1974 to test three hypotheses proposed to account for these trends, including changes in the formal measurement properties of the test, over-time changes in the meaning of education, and intercohort differences in exposure to words on the test. We find no support for the idea that test scores have declined because of changes in the structure of the test. Instead, our results show that education selectivity accounts for some cohort differences among prewar cohorts and that cohort-specific differences in exposure to words on the test account for nearly all variation in vocabulary scores of respondents born after 1945, suggesting different causal processes have influenced cohort verbal ability during distinct historical eras.

Details

Title
Twentieth Century Intercohort Trends in Verbal Ability in the United States
Author
Dorius, Shawn F; Alwin, Duane F; Pacheco, Julianna
Pages
383-412
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Jun 2016
Publisher
Society for Sociological Science
e-ISSN
23306696
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1832790783
Copyright
Copyright Society for Sociological Science Jun 2016