Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

A study of intelligence in Estonia.

Richard Lynn¹, Jüri Allik, Helle Pullmann

¹University of Ulster. lynnr540@aol.com

Psychological Reports

|January 18, 2003

Summary

The Standard Progressive Matrices IQ test revealed Estonian adolescents scored higher than British norms. Even after accounting for intelligence changes over time, Estonian IQ remained robust, unaffected by lower living standards.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Conceptualisation and operationalisation of mental health literacy: An umbrella review.

Scandinavian journal of public health·2026

Same author

Loneliness and Personality: Noise- and Bias-Free True Correlations Between Loneliness and the Big Five Personality Domains.

Journal of personality·2026

Same author

Robust inference and widespread genetic correlates from a large-scale genetic association study of human personality.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

Skin conductance response and habituation to emotional facial expressions and words.

Acta psychologica·2024

Same author

Most people's life satisfaction matches their personality traits: True correlations in multitrait, multirater, multisample data.

Journal of personality and social psychology·2024

Same author

Self- and informant-reported personality traits and vaccination against COVID-19.

PloS one·2024

Area of Science:

Psychometrics
Cognitive Psychology
Population Studies

Background:

The Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) is a widely used non-verbal test of fluid intelligence.
Standardization of intelligence tests is crucial for accurate cross-cultural comparisons.
Previous research has explored the Flynn effect and its impact on IQ scores across different populations.

Purpose of the Study:

To standardize the Standard Progressive Matrices in Estonia.
To compare the IQ of Estonian adolescents with British norms.
To investigate the influence of living standards on cognitive abilities in a European population.

Main Methods:

The Standard Progressive Matrices was administered to 2,689 Estonian adolescents aged 12-18 years in 2001.
Estonian IQ scores were compared to British IQ norms from 1979.
Adjustments were made for the estimated secular increase in intelligence (Flynn effect) in Britain.

Main Results:

The mean IQ of the Estonian sample was approximately 5 IQ points higher than the 1979 British norms.
After adjusting for the secular increase in intelligence, the mean IQ of the Estonian sample was calculated to be 100.2 (compared to a British mean of 100).
The findings suggest that decades of lower living standards in Estonia did not impair the general intelligence of the population.

Conclusions:

The Estonian standardization of the Standard Progressive Matrices provides valuable normative data for the region.
Estonian adolescents exhibit high fluid intelligence, comparable to or exceeding established norms.
Cognitive abilities, as measured by the SPM, appear resilient to socioeconomic factors like lower living standards over extended periods.

Related Experiment Videos