UvA

Spearman's hypothesis tested at the level of items states that differences between groups on the items of an IQ test are a function of the g loadings of these items, such that there are small differences between groups on items with low g loadings and large differences between groups on items with high g loadings, and it has been confirmed in a limited number of studies. In this paper, we tested Spearman's hypothesis, comparing groups of Libyan university students and adults with comparable groups from South Africa, Spain, and Russia, and a group of Roma (Gypsies) from Serbia (total N = 844). The analyses were carried out on comparisons between the Libyans and the other groups. Spearman's hypothesis was strongly confirmed with a mean weighted r with a value of .73. We conclude that Spearman's hypothesis tested at the item level appears to be a more regular phenomenon than previously thought.