IntelligencePub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101985
Kimmo Sorjonen , Marika Melin , Emil Lager , Gustav Nilsonne , Bo Melin
{"title":"Low validity of lower ability test scores can mimic the Dunning-Kruger effect","authors":"Kimmo Sorjonen , Marika Melin , Emil Lager , Gustav Nilsonne , Bo Melin","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101985","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101985","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Dunning-Kruger effect describes a phenomenon where individuals with low ability allegedly tend to overestimate their ability more than individuals with higher ability. According to a contemporary operationalization of the Dunning-Kruger effect, individuals with low measured ability are predicted to have higher self-rated ability in a LOESS (locally estimated scatterplot smoothing) model compared with a linear regression model. In simulations we show that a Dunning-Kruger effect can appear due to an impact of disturbance on measured ability, even when self-rated ability is a perfect measure of true ability. A higher self-rated than measured ability may be due to measured ability underestimating true ability rather than due to self-rated ability being an overestimation. Hence, Dunning-Kruger effects do not prove that individuals with low measured ability overestimate their true ability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 101985"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101988
Vanessa S. Pallentin , Jan Rummel , Daniel Danner
{"title":"Investigating retest effects in cognitive ability tests: An operation-specific approach","authors":"Vanessa S. Pallentin , Jan Rummel , Daniel Danner","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101988","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101988","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The term “retest effects” refers to score gains on cognitive ability as well as educational achievement tests upon repeated administration of the same or a similar test. Previous research on this phenomenon has focused mainly on general cognitive ability scores—often using manifest difference scores—and has neglected differences in retest effects across different types of cognitive operations underlying general cognitive abilities. Additionally, these studies have focused primarily on average group-level test scores, neglecting interindividual differences in retest effects. To address these gaps, we used latent growth curve modeling to examine retest effects in <em>N</em> = 203 participants across three test sessions, considering both general cognitive ability and its four underlying operations according to the Berlin intelligence structure model, namely, processing capacity, processing speed, creativity, and memory. Results show a linear improvement in overall performance of 53.60 points (about 10.45 IQ points) with each assessment, corresponding to two thirds of a standard deviation. Participants' slopes—that is, their rates of improvement across test sessions—did not vary significantly, and thus did not correlate with their initial cognitive ability levels. Statistically significant operation-specific differences in the magnitude of retest effects were found, with memory showing the largest retest effect and creativity the smallest. Although participants did not vary in their rates of improvement on the processing-capacity and memory operation, there was significant interindividual variation in the slopes of the other two operations. These findings highlight the importance of considering operation-specific scores in research on retest effects. Implications for cognitive ability retesting practices are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 101988"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101992
Dragos Iliescu , Samuel Greiff
{"title":"What should replicate in intelligence research? Setting the bar for a cumulative science","authors":"Dragos Iliescu , Samuel Greiff","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101992","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101992","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 101992"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145836764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101971
Jingmin Zhang , Yuling Wang , Liuqing Tian
{"title":"Can wisdom guide intelligence and creativity toward prosocial ends? Evidence from humanistic, domain-aligned assessments","authors":"Jingmin Zhang , Yuling Wang , Liuqing Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101971","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101971","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wisdom is theorized to regulate the ethical use of cognitive strengths, but empirical evidence for its moderating role remains limited and inconsistent. This research investigates whether wisdom guides the application of intelligence and creativity toward prosocial ends, using domain-consistent, humanistic assessments across two studies (<em>N</em> = 933). Study 1 employed performance-based measures to examine how state-level wisdom influences the prosocial deployment of social intelligence and real-life creativity in morally complex scenarios. Study 2 used self-report measures to explore trait-level associations among integrative wisdom, social intelligence, creativity, and social mindfulness. Across both studies, wisdom consistently moderated the link between creativity and prosociality: higher wisdom predicted either stronger positive associations (Study 2) or buffered against ethically problematic use (Study 1). In contrast, no consistent evidence was found that wisdom similarly guided the use of intelligence. These findings suggest that wisdom functions as a selective moral regulator, more effectively shaping the ethical expression of open-ended, generative capacities such as creativity than of structured, instrumental capacities such as intelligence. The results underscore the importance of aligning constructs within shared evaluative domains and provide preliminary empirical support for wisdom as a meta-capacity that channels value-sensitive strengths toward socially constructive ends.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 101971"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145569973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-07DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101965
Soo Youn Kim , Jordyn Esprit , Ann Levine , Kevin G. Stephenson
{"title":"The effect of processing speed on academic fluency in children with neurodevelopmental disorders","authors":"Soo Youn Kim , Jordyn Esprit , Ann Levine , Kevin G. Stephenson","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Poor processing speed (PS) is frequently observed in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, mixed findings exist on the predictive validity of such processing speed impairment and the role of working memory (WM). We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients evaluated at a developmental assessment clinic between March 2018 and December 2022. Patients with available data on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and the Woodcock-Johnson, Fourth Edition, Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH) were included (<em>n</em> = 77, 69 % male; <em>M</em><sub><em>age</em></sub> = 10.6, <em>SD</em><sub><em>age</em></sub> = 2.5; FSIQ range = 47–129). We performed a mediation analysis with academic fluency (AF) as the dependent variable, PS as the predictor, WM as the mediator, and academic skills and general intelligence as covariates. Both the direct and indirect effects of PS were significant prior to adding covariates. However, only the direct effect of PS was robust, independent of the effects of academic skills and general intelligence. The indirect effect of PS through WM was insignificant after accounting for the general academic skills and intelligence. Therefore, PS explains a unique variance in AF. This finding suggests that PS may be an exception to the criticism of cognitive profile analysis. Interpreting the PS score as a relative strength or weakness within a cognitive profile may uniquely predict their timed academic performance in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101965"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145266347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101962
Friederike Busse , Luc Zimny , Ulrich Schroeders , Oliver Wilhelm
{"title":"Cloze test performance and cognitive abilities: A comprehensive meta-analysis","authors":"Friederike Busse , Luc Zimny , Ulrich Schroeders , Oliver Wilhelm","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101962","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101962","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cloze tests have a long history and have been used to measure various abilities, including intelligence, reading comprehension, and language proficiency. To locate cloze tests within a nomological network of cognitive abilities, we conducted a multilevel random effects meta-analysis covering 110 years of research. Studies were eligible if they provided a measure of association between a cognitive fill-in-the-blank test and any cognitive ability test. We synthesized manifest correlations from 89 studies (<em>N</em> = 37,912, <em>k</em> = 634) and found an average correlation of <em>r</em> = .54 (95% CI [.49, .59], <em>k</em> = 485) with crystallized intelligence, <em>r</em> = .48 (95% CI [.42, .54], <em>k</em> = 69) with fluid intelligence, and <em>r</em> =.61 (95% CI [.46, .77], <em>k</em> = 32) with general intelligence. While today's application of the typical cloze is to measure reading comprehension, our results revealed a similarly strong association with a broad range of crystallized abilities. Of the key moderators we investigated—text base, administration mode, deletion pattern, and response type—only the response type showed a significant effect. Sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of our findings. We conclude by revisiting the origin of the cloze test and highlighting the need for systematic studies on how different cloze test designs affect construct validity. Whereas the meta-analytic database predominantly originates from language research, where cloze tests are entrenched as markers of language proficiency, we propose reframing cloze tests as a versatile intelligence test format—just like multiple-choice tests constitute a testing method—that can be tailored to assess various specific cognitive abilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101962"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145266348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-21DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101964
Matteo Orsoni , Matilde Spinoso , Sara Garofalo , Noemi Mazzoni , Sara Giovagnoli , Debora de Chiusole , Pasquale Anselmi , Alice Bacherini , Irene Pierluigi , Luca Stefanutti , Giulia Balboni , Mariagrazia Benassi
{"title":"Bayesian networks to evaluate and test the Raven’s colored progressive matrices","authors":"Matteo Orsoni , Matilde Spinoso , Sara Garofalo , Noemi Mazzoni , Sara Giovagnoli , Debora de Chiusole , Pasquale Anselmi , Alice Bacherini , Irene Pierluigi , Luca Stefanutti , Giulia Balboni , Mariagrazia Benassi","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study explores the inter-item dependencies within Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (CPMs) across childhood developmental stages by leveraging different Bayesian Network (BN) models. The data were collected from 255 participants aged 4 to 11 and analyzed using both theory-driven (including transitive independence and various sequential dependence structures) and data-driven approaches. The data-driven BN structure learning was developed by incorporating bootstrap stability analysis and parameter optimization, while the hypothesis comparison was carried out via Bayes factors. Furthermore, the model’s validity and generalizability were examined through the implementation of the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) approach. The findings revealed that the Sequential Data-Driven Model exhibited consistent superiority over conventional theory-driven hypothesis models. This suggest the presence of complex interrelationships that might challenge the assumption of local independence in psychometric assessments. Furthermore, our cross-validation analyses and model fit findings reveal that robust sequential dependencies and direct item-to-item influences are more stable in kindergarten samples. Conversely, as students progress through primary school, their response patterns become more heterogeneous and variable, likely reflecting a transition toward more flexible and individualized cognitive approaches. In conclusion, these results suggest the presence of complex patterns of item interdependence in the CPMs, thereby establishing the foundation for the development of advanced scoring methodologies and prompting additional investigation into the cognitive processes underlying these dependencies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101964"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145358049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-02DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101952
Maria Sifaki , Eirini Flouri
{"title":"Writing hand preference and cognitive function across the childhood years: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study","authors":"Maria Sifaki , Eirini Flouri","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101952","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101952","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Some evidence suggests that non-right-handed children have somewhat lower cognitive abilities than their right-handed counterparts, but differences are weak and inconsistent. Further research is needed to understand whether cognitive skill differences between right-handed and non-right-handed children in the general population exist, and if so when they emerge, how they develop across time, and how they may vary for different skills. This study, using longitudinal data from 11,371 children (50.07 % girls) of the UK's Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), explored the associations between writing hand preference and a range of verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills (10 cognitive skill scores overall) at ages 3, 5, 7, and 11 years. Writing hand preference (right-hand/non-right-hand) was reported by children at age 14 (a retrospective measure). We imputed missing data and ran regression modelling, while adjusting for covariates. Writing hand preference was associated with pattern construction at ages 5 and 7 and with verbal reasoning and spatial working memory at age 11, with right-handers performing better. Effect sizes were very small. Sensitivity analyses excluding the small number of children reporting using either hand replicated these results. Our findings suggest that non-right-handed children show some disadvantage, especially in spatial skills, across the primary school years. Supporting their spatial skills could be of benefit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101952"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144933057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-11-12DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101970
Lena Paulus , Frank M. Spinath , Elisabeth Hahn
{"title":"How socioeconomic status affects a child's education – Investigating objective and subjective factors involved in shaping educational success in Germany","authors":"Lena Paulus , Frank M. Spinath , Elisabeth Hahn","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101970","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101970","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Differences in educational trajectories between social backgrounds can only be partially explained by differences in cognitive abilities and are therefore considered educational inequalities. In this study, multiple constructs involved in the prediction of educational success were investigated in a joint approach to specify their unique contributions and to identify mechanisms associated with how socioeconomic status (SES) influences education. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on <em>N</em> = 2273 children (aged 10 to 12). The effect of SES on educational success was found to function via two mechanisms: First, the effect of school grades and home environment on the assignment to secondary school was moderated by SES showing stronger influence at higher SES levels. In contrast, being conscientious exerted a stronger influence for low SES children. Second, high SES children were more likely to display characteristics that positively affected their academic performance (e.g., higher self-perceived ability, educational aspiration, cognitive abilities). Overall, the disadvantage of children with low SES can be explained by the central findings that (1) school grades played a lesser role for low SES children in their recommendation for further educational paths after primary school, and (2) high SES children showed higher self-perceived abilities and higher educational aspirations unrelated to their cognitive abilities which was associated with higher educational success. Why these mechanisms occur and where they originate should be further investigated considering additional factors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101970"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145525446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntelligencePub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2025.101966
Wänström Linda , O'’Keefe Patrick , Muniz-Terrera Graciela , Voll Stacey , D. Mann Frank , Clouston Sean , Hofer Scott , L. Rodgers Joseph
{"title":"Family-level intelligence and maternal health: A cross-cohort, cross-generational longitudinal study using the NLSY","authors":"Wänström Linda , O'’Keefe Patrick , Muniz-Terrera Graciela , Voll Stacey , D. Mann Frank , Clouston Sean , Hofer Scott , L. Rodgers Joseph","doi":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.intell.2025.101966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the association between family-level intelligence metrics, and maternal health outcomes in middle age, as captured in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Building on past research documenting links between maternal intelligence and health, our study expands the inquiry by exploring how both variations and trends in family-level intelligence are associated with maternal middle-age health. We use multilevel modeling analysis to extract family intelligence levels and growth scores from children's Peabody Individual Achievement Test of math, reading recognition and reading comprehension. We use two time-points, ten years apart, to extract levels and growth scores from maternal middle-aged health data. We then use canonical correlation analysis to examine the associations between family intelligence and maternal health. Our results show a positive association between family cognition and maternal health. Families with greater math and reading recognition levels experience better levels of maternal health outcomes. Patterns also suggest that low levels in math and reading comprehension are related to larger declines in physical health. We discuss implications of intellectual development in the family, noting that higher family intelligence not only holds intrinsic value but also is associated with improved maternal health outcomes. We discuss a possible “Flynn effect transfer” within the family context, where intellectual advancement correlates with positive health trajectories in midlife mothers. Future research could extend these insights to explore further downstream effects on both maternal and child well-being.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13862,"journal":{"name":"Intelligence","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 101966"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145358050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}