Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Updated IQ and Well-being Scores for the 50 U.S. States

Version 1 : Received: 2 January 2022 / Approved: 10 January 2022 / Online: 10 January 2022 (12:05:43 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Pesta, B.J. Updated IQ and Well-Being Scores for the 50 U.S. States. J. Intell. 2022, 10, 15. Pesta, B.J. Updated IQ and Well-Being Scores for the 50 U.S. States. J. Intell. 2022, 10, 15.

Abstract

At the level of the 50 U.S. states, an interconnected nexus of well-being variables exists. These variables have been shown to strongly correlate with estimates of state IQ in interesting ways. But the state IQ estimates (McDaniel 2006) are now more than 16 years old, and the state well-being estimates (Pesta et al., 2010) are over 12 years old. Updated state IQ and well-being estimates are therefore needed. I thus first created new state IQ estimates by analyzing scores from both the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency (for adults), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (for fourth and eighth grade children) exams. I also created new global well-being scores by analyzing state variables from the following four well-being subdomains: crime, income, health, and education. When validating the nexus, several interesting correlations existed among the variables. For example, state IQ most strongly predicted FICO credit scores, alcohol consumption (directly), income inequality, and state temperature. Interestingly, state IQ derived here also correlated .58 with state IQ estimates from over 100 years ago. Global well-being likewise correlated with many old and new variables in the nexus, including a correlation of .80 with IQ. In sum, at the level of the U.S. state, a nexus of important, strongly correlated variables exists. These variables comprise well-being, and state IQ is a central node in this network.

Keywords

state IQ; aggregate IQ; well-being; g nexus; PIAAC; NAEP

Subject

Social Sciences, Psychology

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