A Group of Children Are Selected Because They Scored Extremely

question 42

Multiple Choice

A group of children are selected because they scored extremely high (over 145) on an IQ test. Psychologists test their performance again 4 years later only to find that most of them scored a bit lower the second time than the first time. Which of the following is the most likely (and the most parsimonious) explanation?

• A) The children got overconfident and did not try as hard the second time.
• B) The children must have had some sort of unpleasant experience in school that caused their intelligence to decrease over time.
• C) Nothing unusual happened, because all people's IQ scores decline over time.
• D) The drop represents a random fluctuation in data based on a test with less than perfect reliability.

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