A comparative study of general intelligence in Spanish and Moroccan samples
Abstract
The aim of this study is to fill a gap in intelligence research by presenting data for the average IQ in Morocco and for a comparable sample in Spain. Adult samples were administered the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) (Raven, Court, & Raven, 2001) and scored for the total test and for the three sub-factors of gestalt continuation, verbal-analytical reasoning and visuospatial ability identified by Lynn, Allik, and Irwing (2004). The total test and the three factors have shown satisfactory reliability. Our results for the Moroccan sample show significant relationship between general intelligence factor, gestalt continuation and visuospatial ability with education level and income. Conversely, these variables have been shown to be independent for the Spanish sample. This sample obtained significantly higher scores for the four factors assessed than the Moroccan one. These differences have been found also comparing samples with the same education levels. Finally, the errors percentage for Moroccans has been higher than for Spaniards in all the items, suggesting that the level of difficulty was higher for the Moroccan sample.
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A White Spanish sample compared with a sample of Moroccans did not report a clear confirmation of Spearman's hypothesis.
“More recently, a White Spanish sample was compared with a sample of Moroccans but did not report a clear confirmation of Spearman's hypothesis [16].”
From Spearman’s Hypothesis Tested on Black Adults: A Meta-Analysis (2016) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Díaz, A., Sellami, K., Infanzón, E., Lanzón, T., & Lynn, R.
- Affiliations
- Universitat de València (ES)
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Díaz, Amelia
- Venue
- The Spanish journal of psychology
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2012-07
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 526-532
- ISSN
- 1138-7416 (ISSN-L)
- 1988-2904
- OpenAlex
- W2141444734
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Spanish Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Keywords
- general intelligence, Raven Standard Progressive Matrices, visuospatial ability, cross-cultural comparison, Moroccan adults, Spanish adults, educational attainment, income, test difficulty, IQ
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Male, Middle Aged, Morocco, Socioeconomic Factors, Spain
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