Sensotypes

Raven's test performance of sub-Saharan Africans: Average performance, psychometric properties, and the Flynn Effect

“…We did not assign IQ values to studies in which the SPM or CPM did not meet basic psychometric standards, as will be discussed in the results section. For instance, the test-retest reliability in Wober's sample of Nigerian factory workers was 0.59, i.e., below the 0.80 typically found with the SPM (J. C. Raven, Court, & Raven, 1996), and the correlation between pretest SPM scores and educational attainment did not deviate significantly from zero (see also Wober, 1966). Accordingly, we discarded this sample in estimating the average IQ on the Raven's tests.…”

“…However, with an average criterion validity coefficient of .265, the practical utility of the Raven's tests remains quite weak. In light of the many claims concerning the unsuitableness of the Raven's tests in Africa (Irvine, 1969b;Ogunlade, 1978;Verhaegen, 1956;Wober, 1966Wober, , 1975, and the relatively low scores in some samples, more research into the construct validity of the Raven's tests among Africans is needed.…”

“…In estimating average scores of the population of (countries in) sub-Saharan Africa, Lynn (and Vanhanen) used published studies, which included small convenience samples (e.g., Fahrmeier, 1975;Wober, 1966) and large representative samples (e.g., Costenbader & Ngari, 2001;MacArthur, Irvine, & Brimble, 1964). In estimating the average IQ of Africans, they assigned equal weight to both types of sample.…”

The Sensory Processes of Japanese-American and Caucasian-American Students

“…Consistent \\?ith this view, Wober (27) found that the performance of 173 Nigerian workers on the Rod and Frame Test (RFT) differed from a group of American 5s tested by Witkin et at. (26).…”

On the Study of Culture in Developmental Science

“…Visual illusions affect perceptual mechanisms that are shaped by living in a specific environment. At the same time, models of perception postulating pervasive cross-cultural differences [e.g., Wober, 1966] have not been corroborated [e.g., Poortinga, 1971;Serpell, 1979]. Malleability of the perceptual system by cultural factors is clearly limited by biological similarities across the human species.…”