Research brief: Cognitive aging and the Flynn Effect

Dickinson, M. D., & Hiscock, M. (2010). Age-related IQ decline is reduced markedly after adjustment for the Flynn effect. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 32(8), 865-870.

Abstract

Twenty-year-olds outperform 70-year-olds by as much as 2.3 standard deviations (35 IQ points) on subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). We show that most of the difference can be attributed to an intergenerational rise in IQ known as the Flynn effect. Normative data from different versions of the WAIS enabled us to estimate the degree to which the Flynn effect, rather than age-related decline, contributes to differences between 20- and 70-year-olds. The Flynn effect accounted for 38-67% of the apparent age-related decline on 6 of the 11 subtests. On the other 5 subtests, all of which are categorized as verbal, the Flynn effect was larger than the age-group difference. For these verbal subtests, the Flynn effect masked a modest increase in ability as individuals grow older. Overall, the Flynn effect accounted for at least 85% of the disparity between 20- and 70-year-olds.

Flynn effect intelligence IQ IQ test IQ scores aging neuropsychology Atkins cases

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iPost: Impossible to predict in capital cases

Not directly related to Atkins cases but this story does touch on issues of the accuracy of some psychological prediction methods and possible "voodoo psychometrics" that sadly do occur in mental health court testimony from time to time 

Impossible

The Justice Gambit

In his decades working as a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Richard Coons of Austin has testified at dozens of death penalty trials across Texas in which he opined about how defendants would behave in the future.

Read more.... 


Dr. Coons is in a situation similar to Dr. Grigson (a.k.a Dr. Death). Grigson was expelled from the APA for ethics violations. Grigson concluded in the case of Randal Dale Adams that Adams would kill again if released from prison. The only problem with this predication was that Adams had never killed anyone in the first place. He was exonerated and released from Texas Death Row after serving nearly 10 years.

The bottom line is that it is impossible to accurately predict future dangerousness. The American Psychiatric Association filed amicus briefs that noted

Psychiatrists should not be permitted to offer a prediction concerning the long-term future dangerousness of a defendant in a capital case, at least in those circumstances where the psychiatrist purports to be testifying as a medical expert possessing predictive expertise in this area. Although psychiatric assessments may permit shortterm predictions of violent or assaultive behavior, medical knowledge has simply not advanced to the point where long-term predictions -- the type of testimony at issue in this case - -may be made with even reasonable accuracy. The large body of research in this area indicates that, even under the best of conditions, psychiatric predictions of long-term future dangerousness are wrong in at least two out of every three cases.

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iPost: Slobogin on Psychological Syndromes and Criminal Responsibility

More info at CrimProf Blog below. 

Slobogin on Psychological Syndromes and Criminal Responsibility

CrimProf Blog

Christopher Slobogin (Vanderbilt Law School) has posted Psychological Syndromes and Criminal Responsibility on SSRN. Here is the abstract: These two papers both focus on the intersection of the law of evidence with criminal responsibility doctrine, using as a springboard my...

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iPost: AAIDD annual 2011 conference call for papers

The call for papers for the next AAIDD annual conference is now out and can be found at link below. The conference will be in my backyard (Minneapolis MN) in 2011.

http://www.aaidd.org/content_5151.cfm

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iPost: Jonakait on the Original Meaning of Reasonable Doubt and Other Procedural Rights

From the CrimProf blog...click on link below for story and other links

 on the Original Meaning of Reasonable Doubt and Other Procedural Rights

CrimProf Blog

Randolph N. Jonakait (New York Law School) has posted Finding the Original Meaning of American Criminal Procedure Rights: Lessons from Reasonable Doubt's Development on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Lessons can be learned about finding the original meaning of American...

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Law Review Article: The racial geography of the death penalty (Cohen, 2010)

The above titled law review article has now been added to the Law Review Article blogroll at this blog.

Abstract

Scholars have devoted substantial attention to both the overrepresentation of black defendants on federal
death row and the disproportionate number of federal defendants charged capitally for the murder of white victims. This
attention has not explained (much less resolved) these disquieting racial disparities. Little research has addressed the unusual geography of the federal death penalty, in which a small number of jurisdictions are responsible for the vast
majority of federal death sentences. By addressing the unique geography, we identify a possible explanation for the
racial distortions in the federal death penalty: that federal death sentences are sought disproportionately where the
expansion of the venire from the county to the district level has a dramatic demographic impact on the racial make-up of
the jury. This inquiry demonstrates that the conversation concerning who should make up the jury of twelve neighbors
and peers - a discussion begun well before the founding of our Constitution - continues to have relevance today. This
Article documents the historical and racial relationships between place and the ability to seat an impartial jury. We then
discuss the unique impact demographic shifts in the jury pool have on death penalty decision making. Finally, we
propose three possible solutions: (1) a simple, democracy-enhancing fix through a return to the historical conception of
the county as the place of vicinage in federal capital trials; (2) a Batson-type three-step process for rooting out the
influence of race on the decision to prosecute federally; and/or (3) voluntary measures by the Attorney General to mask
demographic and location identifiers when deciding whether to provide federal death-authorization. We explain why a
return to county-level jury pools in federal capital cases (whether through statutory construction, legislative change, or
through the authority of a fair-minded Attorney General) prospectively limits the impact of race on the operation of the
federal death penalty, without establishing the intractability of the federal death penalty as a whole. Finally, we observe
that any effort to study the federal death penalty cannot merely address those federal cases in which the Attorney
General has considered whether to approve an effort to seek the death penalty, but must also include an assessment of
the cases prosecuted in state court that could be prosecuted federally and the prosecutorial decision concerning when
and whether to prosecute in federal court.

iPost: How and how much does lawyering impact sentencing outcomes?

Story at link below

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2010/10/how-and-how-much-does-lawyering-impact-sentencing-outcomes.html

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iPost: More on SCOTUS decision not to hear Hall v Thaler (TX) Atkins petition

Story at link below

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/1018/Refused-by-Supreme-Court-Is-death-row-inmate-mentally-retarded

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iPost: Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship Workshop (Advanced) - Chicago, IL

Info at Legal Scholarship blog link below

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LegalScholarshipBlog/~3/sHUFSbGF73Y/

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iPost: SCOTUS will not hear Hall v Thaler (TX)

stanfordlaw (@stanfordlaw) 10/18/10 6:15 PM RT @AP_Courtside: Supreme Court won't review case of Texas death row inmate who may be mentally impaired: http://yhoo.it/9459W6

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iPost: Habeas, Pro and Con (Dripps)

Story at CrimProf Blog link below

Habeas, Pro and Con (Dripps)

CrimProf Blog

For a truly excellent debate about federal habeas for state prisoners, compare Joseph L. Hoffman & Nancy J. King, Rethinking the Federal Role in State Criminal Justice, 84 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 791, 818-33 (2009) with John H. Blume, Sheri Lyn...

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ICDP blog status - weekly hit stats

Thanks to all the new visitors and the regular readers of this humble blog.  Keep spreading the word to others.

Subject: GoStats: weekly stats

Hello, Kevin McGrew.

Site: "Intellectual Competence & Death Penalty" [ http://www.atkinsmrdeathpenalty.com ]

Total counter state:

   Hits:         44093
   Hosts:        14973
   Visitors:     22636
   Sessions:     27794

From the beginning of the month:

   Hits:         1161
   Hosts:        438
   Visitors:     731
   Sessions:     836
   New Visitors: 624

Last week:

   Hits:         525
   Hosts:        260
   Visitors:     363
   Sessions:     385
   New Visitors: 285

 

iPost: How Neuroscience Is Changing the Law | Going Mental | Big Think

Story at link below

http://bigthink.com/ideas/24324

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iPost: Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads

Info at link below

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2010/10/top-ten-recent-ssrn-downloads-2.html

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iPost: Gruber on a Distributive Theory of Criminal Law

Gruber on a Distributive Theory of Criminal Law

CrimProf Blog

Aya Gruber (University of Colorado Law School) has posted A Distributive Theory of Criminal Law (William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2010) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In criminal law circles, the accepted wisdom is that...

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Law Review Article: Finality, habeas, innocence, and the death penalty: Can justice be done?

ARTICLE: FINALITY, HABEAS, INNOCENCE, AND THE DEATH PENALTY: CAN JUSTICE BE DONE?

NAME: Ellyde Roko

Abstract

In 1995, Judge Betty Binns Fletcher posed a question: In the context of the death penalty, can justice be done? She did not answer the question at the time. However, an examination of the procedural hurdles now facing condemned inmates seeking review of claims of constitutional violations suggests the answer is no. Too often courts, including the Supreme Court, have favored finality over fairness, elevating strict adherence to procedural rules over the responsibility to make sure justice is done. Nowhere is the problem clearer than in the arena of actual innocence, where the failure to consider a condemned inmate's claim on the merits could lead to the execution of an innocent person

Death penalty Atkins mental retardation Capital punishment

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iPost: Charles Lane on the Death Penalty

Another new book on the death penalty. This is an FYI post with no comment either way. I have not read this book nor do I have a copy. Info at link below

http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/2010/10/charles-lane-on-the-death-pena.html

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Dr. Detterman's intelligence bytes: The study of human intelligence as a social science success story

One of the leading scholars and role models in the field of intelligence research is Dr. Doug Detterman. Recently I was honored to review a number of chapters of a major book on intelligence he is writing. I was extremely impressed with the readability of the draft. It will serve as an excellent and comprehensive introduction to the wide-ranging field of human intelligence.

I recently asked Dr. Detterman if I could make a series of posts of select quotes from his draft manuscript. Being the obvious educator he is, he was pleased to grant such permission. Thus, starting today I plan to make regular (as regular as I can....hopefully at least once a week) posts with intriguing or informative direct (brief) quotes from the draft chapters I have in my possession. This is the first in the series.

I have no financial interest in Dr. Detterman's book, but in the spirit of any possible "conflict of interest disclosure" I must mention that I received a very small honorarium to review sections of his book. My goal is simple - to allow readers to learn little tidbits in advance of this major work. From what I have read, most novices and experts in the field of intelligence will want to own this book once it reaches publication with a yet to be named publisher. Kudos to Dr. Detterman.

Below is the first paragraph in the draft "introduction" section.

Intelligence is the best-understood and most powerful variable in the social sciences. Sophisticated psychometric methods, developed largely for intelligence tests, are used to construct and assess modern tests. A substantial commercial industry has grown up around the development and sale of tests. Intelligence can be measured with better reliability than any other social science variable. Huge amounts of data have been collected using the tests and these data span the last century providing a database unavailable in most other areas in the social sciences. Data from individuals show strong relationships to many important social outcome measures including educational achievement, occupational success, income, and death, to name a few. The data collected also provide important information about the genetic, biological, and environmental origins of intelligence. Relationships at the country level have also been investigated showing that countries with higher mean IQs show a greater gross domestic product per person, are less religious, and show higher levels of democracy. In short, by any objective standard, intelligence is the social science success story of unrivaled proportions

intelligence IQ IQ tests Doug Detterman Dettermans bytes


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Dr. Detterman's intelligence bytes: On the history of IQ tests and theories

This is the second in the Dr. Doug Detterman's intelligence bytes. Below is a direct excerpt.

The point of view is simple to state: Intelligence tests arose because they filled a social need and still do. Through history, important decisions about peoples' lives were made by the subjective decisions of others. The history of intelligence tests is one of replacing subjective decisions of biased observers where bias was often based on family position and political influence with objective measures from more objective tests. Tests became important tools for a developing meritocracy.

This brief history will also make clear that though we know a lot about intelligence, we do not yet know exactly what it is. There are good reasons we do not know as much as we would like to about intelligence. These reasons lie in the history of the development of the intelligence test and the parallel history of the theory about intelligence. An appreciation of what we do and do not know about intelligence requires an understanding of that history.

intelligence IQ IQ tests Doug Detterman Dettermans bytes


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iPost: Hall v Thaler Texas Atkins case SCOTUS petion

The SCOTUS blog reports that the Hall v Thaler (TX) "Atkins" case is a "petition to watch." Hopefully this petition is successful and SCOTUS addresses many of the problems left in the wake of the original Atkins v Virginia SCOTUS decision.

All related documents can be accessed under the name of the Petition at the link below, which includes other non-Atkins petitions as well.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scotusblog/pFXs/~3/91nqPV08TXY/

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iPost: Top 10 recent SSRN downloads

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads

CrimProf Blog

are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 208 Palestine and the International Criminal Court: Asking the Right Question Michael G. Kearney, London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Law, Date posted to...

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iPost Research byte: Fabricated evidence and eyewitness testimony

Wise, R. A., Pawlenko, N. B., Safer, M. A., & Meyer, D. (2009). What US Prosecutors and Defence Attorneys Know and Believe About Eyewitness Testimony. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(9), 1266-1281.

False information can influence people's beliefs and memories. But can fabricated evidence induce individuals to accuse another person of doing something they never did? We examined whether exposure to a fabricated video could produce false eyewitness testimony. Subjects completed a gambling task alongside a confederate subject, and later we falsely told subjects that their partner had cheated on the task. Some subjects viewed a digitally manipulated video of their partner cheating; some were told that video evidence of the cheating exists; and others were not told anything about video evidence. Subjects were asked to sign a statement confirming that they witnessed the incident and that their corroboration could be used in disciplinary action against the accused. See-video subjects were three times more likely to sign the statement than Told-video and Control subjects. Fabricated evidence may, indeed, produce false eyewitness testimony; we discuss probable cognitive mechanisms.


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iPost Research Bytes 10-10-10: WISC IV low scores base rates

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Prevalence of Low Scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)

Psychological Assessment © 2010 American Psychological Association 2010, Vol. 22, No. 3, 650–656 1040-3590/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0019781

Brian L. Brooks Alberta Children's Hospital and University of Calgary

Low scores across a battery of tests are common in healthy people and vary by demographic charac-teristics. The purpose of the present article was to present the base rates of low scores for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition (WISC-IV; D. Wechsler, 2003). Participants included 2,200 children and adolescents between 6 and 16 years of age from the WISC-IV U.S. standardization sample. Measures considered in the base rates analyses included the 10 core subtests and the 4 index scores. Analyses were conducted for the entire standardization sample as well as stratified by different classifications of intelligence and different years of parental education. In the total sample, it is uncommon to have 6 or more subtest scores or 2 or more Index scores <= 9th percentile. The prevalence of low scores typically increased with lesser intelligence and fewer years of parental education (e.g., children with below-average intelligence were 75 times more likely than children with above-intelligence to have at least one impaired subtest score). Consistent with existing studies of the base rates of low scores, some low scores on the WISC-IV were common in children and adolescents, and the frequency was related to a child's level of intelligence and parental education.

Keywords: pediatric, base rates, children, abnormal score, intelligence

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iPost: High court delays execution of man said to be mentally deficient - CNN.com

CNN story below

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/08/texas.scotus.execution/index.html

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iPost: NH court sets standards for death sentence review

At link below

http://www.probono.net/deathpenalty/news/article.337886-NH_court_sets_standards_for_death_sentence_review

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iPost: Demographics and the Death Penalty

At link below

http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/2010/10/demographics-and-the-death-pen.html

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Court Decision: Hines v Thaler (TX, 2010)

I'm trying to catch up with the back load of files sent to me by others while I was traveling "down under."  Today I am posting, without comment, information regarding the Hines v Thaler (TX, 2010) Atkins case.  Thanks again to Kevin Foley for sending me these files.

The case was initially referred to the federal magistrate judge who held a hearing and issued his own opinion.  Hines objected to the magistrate’s findings, which meant that the district court judge had to resolve the matter. He did, and his opinion was released on Aug. 18,2010 (I don't seem to have a copy anymore - if anyone does, please send so I can add).    Vol 1 and Vol 2 of the court transcripts have also been posted for those who want to read in more detail.

Technorati Tags: psychology, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, intelligence, school psychology, psychometrics, educational psychology, IQ, IQ tests, IQ scores, adaptive behavior, adaptive functioning, intellectual disability, mental retardation, MR, ID, criminal psychology, criminal defense, criminal justice, ABA, Atkins cases, Atkins death penalty, American Bar Association, Atkins cases, death penalty, capital punishment, AAIDD, Atkins MR/ID listserv, ICDP blog, psychiatry, psychiatry and criminal justice, Flynn effect, Briseno standards, Texas and death penalty, Hines v Thaler, Hines v Texas

Dr. Keyes and Dr. Blandino on malingering and retrspective MR/ID Dx in Atkins DP cases

Thanks to Dr. Denis Keyes and Dr. Sal Blandino for making their joint PPT slide presentations, which were part of a 2010 AAIDD Atkins MR/ID Death Penalty Symposium, available for viewing via my SlideShare account (click here).  The file is available for viewing on-line but the download feature has been disabled.  If you want to read a brief summary of the presentation, click here. Contact information for each presenter is on their last slide.

Two other PPT shows (by Stephen Greenspan and John Blume) that were part of this symposium can be found by clicking here and here.


Technorati Tags: psychology, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, intelligence, school psychology, psychometrics, educational psychology, IQ, IQ tests, IQ scores, adaptive behavior, adaptive functioning, intellectual disability, mental retardation, MR, ID, criminal psychology, criminal defense, criminal justice, ABA, Atkins cases, Atkins death penalty, American Bar Association, Atkins cases, death penalty, capital punishment, AAIDD, Atkins MR/ID listserv, ICDP blog, psychiatry, psychiatry and criminal justice

Pushing the edge of cognitive (CHC) intelligence theory @ IQ's Corner

For those interested in where intelligence testing may be heading (based on my research and thinking)...check out "Pushing the edge of contemporary cognitive (CHC) theory:  New directions for psychologists" at IQ's Corner blog (sister blog to ICDP blog)

Technorati Tags: psychology, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, intelligence, school psychology, psychometrics, educational psychology, IQ, IQ tests, IQ scores, adaptive behavior, adaptive functioning, intellectual disability, mental retardation, MR, ID, criminal psychology, criminal defense, criminal justice, ABA, Atkins cases, Atkins death penalty, American Bar Association, Atkins cases, death penalty, capital punishment, AAIDD, Atkins MR/ID listserv, ICDP blog, psychiatry, psychiatry and criminal justice, CHC intelligence theory, Cattell-Horn-Carroll, cognitive abilities

New directions in neuropsychological assessment: Augmenting neuropsychological assessment with CHC cognitive measures

I just returned from Australia where I made a number of presentations.  Two were at the 2010 16th Annual APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists Conference. 

I just posted the slides (at my SlideShare site - click here) from my 2+ hour workshop:  New directions in neuropsychological assessment: Augmenting neuropsychological assessment with CHC cognitive measures.

Briefly, the workshop is my first attempt to integrate CHC with neuropsychological assessment, with an emphasis on how NP tests can be interpreted from the CHC intelligence model which can then serves as a foundation for follow-up testing of NP tests with CHC measures.  Below are a few "tease" slides to get readers interested.  The last slide is derived from the keynote presentation I made (Beyond CHC theory...), which will be posted shortly.

Technorati Tags: Psychology, school psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, special education, intelligence, cognitive abilities, cognition, intelligence theories, CHC theory, CHC, Cattell-Horn-Carroll, intelligence, cognition, IQ, IQ tests