Existentialism in Lithuania

Philosophical trends such as the philosophy of religion, especially Thomism, existentialism, and phenomenology emerged in Lithuanian philosophy during the 20th century. The article discusses the chief preconditions of the spread of existentialism, in particular the dominant Christian existentialism, in Lithuania and its influence on Lithuanian culture. The best known representatives of this philosophical trend were J. Girnius and A. Maceina. There are two periods of existentialism and its development in Lithuania: the first one includes the independence years and the second covers the time of the Soviet occupation. The author discusses its influence on Lithuanian literature and introduces the main problems of existential philosophy.

Phenomenology in Lithuania

The article deals with phenomenology in Lithuania. The main thesis of the article is this: phenomenology is a living tradition in need of both development and interpretation. The minor thesis follows from the main one: the Western phenomenological tradition and Lithuanian philosophy interact and develop in tandem with one another. According to the authors, the contact between poetics and philosophy is the dominant form of phenomenology in Lithuania. The phenomenological tradition is treated as creative and living philosophical thought.

The IQ: A Reply

Approach vs. be approached behavioral measures of personal space were taken on 102 fifth and sixth grade children, each of whom was assigned to one of three groups: (a) Model-Close condition, (b) Model Far condition, and (c) No-Model Control group. A male peer served as model (M), and a 41-year-old female served as the object person. Results revealed a strong modeling tendency with both girls and boys tending to stay close or far from the object person as a function of M behavior. Boys and girls tended to behave similarly in the Close and Far modeling groups, but girls used more space in the No-Model Control condition. These findings suggest that modeling had an attenuating effect on sex differences in use of space. It was concluded that modeling theory is a viable conceptual tool for use in personal space research.     

Inbreeding depression and IQ in a study of 72 countries

In this ecological study, a robust negative correlation of r = ? .62 (P < .01) is reported between national IQs and consanguinity as measured by the log₁₀ transformed percentage of consanguineous marriages for 72 countries. This correlation is reduced in magnitude, when IQ is controlled for GDP per capita (r = ? .41, P < .01); education index (r = ? .40, P < .01); and democracy index (r = ? .42, P < .01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that in the absence of the democracy index; percentage consanguineous marriages, education index and GDP per capita all exhibited stable final standardized β coefficients, however consanguinity had the least impact (β = 0, P > .05) whereas GDP per capita had the highest (β = .35, P > .01). This result is interpreted in light of cultural feedback theory, whereby it is suggested that consanguinity could subtly influence IQ at larger scales as a result of small IQ handicaps bought about through inbreeding being amplified into much larger differences through their effect on factors that maximize IQ such as access to education and adequate nutrition. Finally, consideration is given to future potential research directions.     

A new estimate of the IQ in Estonia

The Standard Progressive Matrices was standardized in Estonia in 2001 on a sample of 1,835 7- to 11-yr.-olds. The mean IQ of the Estonian sample was estimated at 98 in relation to a British IQ of 100 and 99 based on the combined results for two studies.     

The Wandering IQ: A Continuation

The hypothesis addressed in this study was that for every experimental condition, learning with awareness would occur. An experiment was conducted with use of a collating task that incorporated the awareness question into the design investigating the change in performance quality and quantity. Statistical evaluation of Dulany's awareness questionnaire suggested general unawareness of attempted verbal operant conditioning. There is some evidence suggesting that an actual change in performance quality and quantity is accompanied by awareness with use of operant conditioning procedures.     

The rise of philosophy in Lithuania

The first Lithuanians to be introduced to philosophy were young members of the gentry who studied in European universities at the end of the 14th century. The recently christened Lithuania strove to adopt Western culture and to present itself as a Western state. At the end of the 14th century, the Vilnius Cathedral School was founded. The elements of logic were probably taught there. The growth of the political and economic power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania brought about the need for higher education. The need was significantly increased by the growing activity of various religious orders. In 1507, the Dominicans started teaching philosophy and theology to their novices in Vilnius. They taught late medieval philosophy in its Thomistic interpretation. We can regard 1507 as the year Lithuania began to benefit from a new phenomenon, professional philosophy, with the Dominicans as its initiators. The Dominicans and later the Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines, Carmelites, Trinitarians, and other monastic orders enriched intellectual life in Lithuania by teaching philosophy in their schools. The most important event in the development of philosophy in Lithuania was the foundation of Vilnius University in 1579. The disciplines belonging to scholasticism of the second level were taught in its philosophy department.

Raising the IQ: The Ramey and Haskins study

The Ramey and Haskins intervention experiment succeeded in producing IQ gains at three years of age averaging about one standard deviation in young children who were selected for being at risk for subnormal intellectual development. The study is examined in terms of its consistency with other findings, the heritability of IQ, the g aspect of IQ, the simplex pattern of longitudinal interage mental test score correlations, mother-child IQ correlations, and criteria for establishing educationally and socially significant gains in intelligence defined as g rather than as a score on a particular test. Narrow transfer of training from cognitive intervention techniques to IQ test performance in early childhood, rather than enhancement of the g factor itself, is hypothesized as a cause of the typical fadeout of early IQ gains in later childhood.     

A genetic analysis of brain volumes and IQ in children

In a population-based sample of 112 nine-year old twin pairs, we investigated the association among total brain volume, gray matter and white matter volume, intelligence as assessed by the Raven IQ test, verbal comprehension, perceptual organization and perceptual speed as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. Phenotypic correlations between the brain volumes and intelligence traits ranged between .20 and .33. Processing speed and brain volume did not correlate. The relation between brain volume and intelligence was entirely explained by a common set of genes influencing both sets of phenotypes.     

IQ change and occupational level: A longitudinal study with Third Harvard Growth Study participants

Eighty subjects from a larger number of participants in a longitudinal study were selected according to their 1916 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test scores, administered in the 1930s, and their 1977 occupations. They were then individually administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The research questions asked were: Did subjects shift their positions relative to age peers with regard to measured intelligence from Time 1 (1930s) testing to Time 2 (1977) testing? And, if they did, were these shifts related to their occupational levels? A secondary question asked whether subjects as a group showed mean T score increments between test times. A Pearson correlation coefficient (r = .62) showed that subjects had significantly maintained their positions relative to peers with regard to measured intelligence over approximately one-half of a century. The hypothesis that persons in higher level occupations should show greater gains in measured intelligence over time was not supported. Using multiple regression procedures, no significant difference was found from analysis of effects of occupational level on D (D = T₂ ? T₁) scores. An 80-subject mean T score increase (M = +8.13) was found. This represented an average increase of four-fifths of a standard deviation in T score units. These data suggest that, on average, persons increase in mental abilities over time while maintaining IQ positions relative to peers and that those changes in IQ which do occur are not related to occupational level experience.     

IQ decline following early unilateral brain injury: a longitudinal study

We examine whether children with early unilateral brain injury show an IQ decline over the course of development. Fifteen brain injured children were administered an IQ test once before age 7 and again several years later. Post-7 IQ scores were significantly lower than pre-7 IQ scores. In addition, pre-7 IQ scores were lower for children with larger lesions, but children with smaller lesions and higher pre-7 IQ scores showed a greater IQ decline over time. These findings suggest that the cognitive outcomes of children with early lesions, particularly those with relatively small lesions, change over the course of development.     

The K-BIT: A screen for IQ in six diverse populations

Performance data were collected on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) from a total of 196 individuals from six diverse populations. College students did best, followed closely by closed head-injured adults and their controls; the order of performance then was learning-disabled children, psychiatric patients, and finally, neurosurgical patients in the acute stages of recovery.     

A classical IQ model of the stages of cognitive development

Based on the construct of classical IQ (mental age/chronological age), a model of the proportions of the population at various stages of cognitive development as a function of age is proposed. The model, which accounts well for empirical data for the age range 13 through 17 years, is shown to compare favorably with other theoretical models. The success of the model provides further evidence of the salience of the construct of general cognitive capacity in differential psychology.     

Career adaptability in Lithuania: A test of psychometric properties and a theoretical model

The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Lithuanian Form consists of four six-item subscales measuring concern, control, curiosity, and confidence. These are thought to be the main dimensions of career adaptability reflecting individual psychosocial resources to cope with occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. Two studies were administered in a sample (N  =  767) of Lithuanian high school students. The results showed factor structure to be identical to that of the CAAS-International Form. Moreover, good to excellent scale internal consistency coefficients were obtained. With a slight exception, MIMIC model analysis revealed no major effects of demographic variables upon the CAAS factor or factor indicator scores. Concurrent validity analysis showed career adaptability, as measured by the CAAS-Lithuanian Form, to be significantly related to career aspirations, to the frequency of career exploration behaviors and to career decidedness. Finally, as hypothesized by the career construction model of adaptation, career exploration behaviors mediated the link between career adaptability and decidedness.     

A systematic literature review of the average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans

On the basis of several reviews of the literature, Lynn [Lynn, R., (2006). Race differences in intelligence: An evolutionary analysis. Augusta, GA: Washington Summit Publishers.] and Lynn and Vanhanen [Lynn, R., & Vanhanen, T., (2006). IQ and global inequality. Augusta, GA: Washington Summit Publishers.] concluded that the average IQ of the Black population of sub-Saharan Africa lies below 70. In this paper, the authors systematically review published empirical data on the performance of Africans on the following IQ tests: Draw-A-Man (DAM) test, Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), the Wechsler scales (WAIS & WISC), and several other IQ tests (but not the Raven's tests). Inclusion and exclusion criteria are explicitly discussed. Results show that average IQ of Africans on these tests is approximately 82 when compared to UK norms. We provide estimates of the average IQ per country and estimates on the basis of alternative inclusion criteria. Our estimate of average IQ converges with the finding that national IQs of sub-Saharan African countries as predicted from several international studies of student achievement are around 82. It is suggested that this estimate should be considered in light of the Flynn Effect. It is concluded that more psychometric studies are needed to address the issue of measurement bias of western IQ tests for Africans.     

The future of IQ testing in education

Will IQ tests as we currently know them be used in schools in the year 2000? Will they be used as they are now or will they serve different functions? What new kinds of tests of aptitude and intelligence are likely to be developed in the next twenty years? In this article, the author attempts to answer the first two questions by considering the functions that IQ and aptitude tests now serve in schools and the trends that may modify the present pattern of test use. To answer the third question, she examines current research on intelligence and aptitude and discusses the kind of intelligence tests that might prove more useful in instructional planning.     

IQ correlations in transracial adoptive families

IQ tests were administered to all available members over 4 years old in 101 transracial adoptive families when the adopted children were an average of 7 years old and again when they averaged 17 years old. At both times, 426 members of 93 families were studied; 398 were seen in person and administered the WAIS-R or WISC-R. IQ correlations were calculated for adopted and biological parent-child pairs, and for genetically related and unrelated siblings. Educational levels of birth parents were correlated with the IQ scores of their adopted-away children. Results show that biologically related family members tended to resemble each other intellectually more than did adoptive family members at both time points. IQ correlations for biological parent-child pairs exceeded those for adoptive parent-child pairs, and correlations were greater for genetically related than unrelated siblings. In late adolescence, the IQ scores of unrelated siblings in the transracial adoptive families were more similar than those of unrelated adolescent siblings pairs reported in other studies. The pattern of IQ correlations for unrelated siblings suggested that familial environmental influences on IQ decline from childhood to late adolescence, but this conclusion was not supported by parent-child IQ correlations. The effects of selective placement on familial IQ correlations were small. Estimates of genetic and familial environmental influences on IQ were very similar to those of other studies. This suggests that the influences on intellectual development in this sample of black/interracial adoptees reared in white families are similar to those for children in the majority populations of the United States and Western Europe.