General intelligence factor

The general intelligence factor (abbreviated g) is a widely accepted but controversial construct used in the field of psychology (see also psychometrics) to quantify what is common to the scores of all intelligence tests. The phrase "g theory" refers to hypotheses and results regarding g's biological nature, stability/malleability, relevance to real-world tasks, and other inquiries.

The Flynn effect and g

The Flynn effect describes a rise in IQ scores over time. There is no strong consensus as to whether rising IQ scores also reflect increases in g. Statistical analyses of IQ subtest scores suggest a g-independent input to the Flynn effect (Wicherts et al. 2004). However, increases in cranial volume over time suggest that g might have been increasing.

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