An examination of psychological characteristics and their relationship to academic entitlement among millennial and nonmillennial college students

Keener, Ashley

doi:10.1002/pits.22338

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Our findings validate the views of many university professors that students are less smart, less well prepared, and work less, but yet the students themselves believe that they are, in fact, very smart and deserve the very top grades [143][144][145][146][147]. University professors' beliefs are also well supported in the literature.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Meta-analysis: on average, undergraduate students’ intelligence is merely average

Uttl,

Violo,

Gibson

2024

ScienceOpen Research

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Background: According to a widespread belief, the average IQ of university students is 115 to 130 IQ points, that is, substantially higher than the average IQ of the general population (M = 100, SD = 15). We traced the origin of this belief to obsolete intelligence data collected in 1940s and 1950s when university education was the privilege of a few. Examination of more recent IQ data indicate that IQ of university students and university graduates dropped to the average of the general population. The decline in students’ IQ is a necessary consequence of increasing educational attainment over the last 80 years. Today, graduating from university is more common than completing high school in the 1940s. Method: We conducted a meta-analysis of the mean IQ scores of college and university students samples tested with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale between 1939 and 2022. Results: The results show that the average IQ of undergraduate students today is a mere 102 IQ points and declined by approximately 0.2 IQ points per year. The students’ IQ also varies substantially across universities and is correlated with the selectivity of universities (measured by average SAT scores of admitted students). Discussion: These findings have wide-ranging implications. First, universities and professors need to realize that students are no longer extraordinary but merely average, and have to adjust curricula and academic standards. Second, employers can no longer rely on applicants with university degrees to be more capable or smarter than those without degrees. Third, students need to realize that acceptance into university is no longer an invitation to join an elite group. Fourth, the myth of brilliant undergraduate students in scientific and popular literature needs to be dispelled. Fifth, estimating premorbid IQ based on educational attainment is vastly inaccurate, obsolete, not evidence based, and mere wishful thinking. Sixth, obsolete IQ data or tests ought not to be used to make high-stakes decisions about individuals, for example, by clinical psychologists to opine about the intelligence and cognitive abilities of their clients.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Meta-analysis: on average, undergraduate students’ intelligence is merely average

Uttl,

Violo,

Gibson

2024

ScienceOpen Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our findings validate the views of many university professors that students are less smart, less well prepared, and work less, but yet the students themselves believe that they are, in fact, very smart and deserve the very top grades (CTV.ca News Staff, 2009;Douglas, 2009;Frank, 2022;Greenberger et al, 2008;Keener, 2020). University professors' beliefs are also well supported in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Meta-analysis: On average, undergraduate students' intelligence is merely average

Uttl,

Violo,

Gibson

2024

Preprint

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Background. According to a widespread belief, the average IQ of university students is 115 to 130 IQ points, that is, substantially higher than the average IQ of the general population ( M = 100, SD =15). We traced the origin of this belief to obsolete intelligence data collected in 1940s and 1950s when university education was the privilege of a few. Examination of more recent IQ data indicate that IQ of university students and university graduates dropped to the average of the general population. The decline in students’ IQ is a necessary consequence of increasing educational attainment over the last 80 years. Today, graduating from university is more common than completing high school in the 1940s. Method. We conducted a meta-analysis of the mean IQ scores of college and university students samples tested with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale between 1939 and 2022. Results. The results show that the average IQ of undergraduate students today is a mere 102 IQ points and declined by approximately 0.2 IQ points per year. The students’ IQ also varies substantially across universities and is correlated with the selectivity of universities (measured by average SAT scores of admitted students). Discussion. These findings have wide-ranging implications. First, universities and professors need to realize that students are no longer extraordinary but merely average, and have to adjust curricula and academic standards. Second, employers can no longer rely on applicants with university degrees to be more capable or smarter than those without degrees. Third, students need to realize that acceptance into university is no longer an invitation to join an elite group. Fourth, the myth of brilliant undergraduate students in scientific and popular literature needs to be dispelled. Fifth, estimating premorbid IQ based on educational attainment is vastly inaccurate, obsolete, not evidence based, and mere wishful thinking. Sixth, obsolete IQ data or tests ought not to be used to make high-stakes decisions about individuals, for example, by clinical psychologists to opine about the intelligence and cognitive abilities of their clients.

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“…Whilst this explanation predicts improved accuracy later in training, it does not predict the direction of our results (negative δ ‐scores at Level 1 and positive scores at Level 3). Inflated self‐ratings of academic performance have sometimes been attributed to academic entitlement among millennial students who view themselves as customers engaged in an economic transaction with their degrees being a “product”’ they purchase (e.g., Finney & Finney, 2010; Keener, 2020). However, a sense of entitlement would be expected to lead to inflated self‐ratings across all levels of training, a pattern not observed in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supervisor versus self‐assessment of trainee competence: Differences across developmental stages and competency domains

Gonsalvez,

Riebel,

Nolan

et al. 2023

J Clin Psychol

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ObjectivesThis research aimed to systematically examine supervisor–trainee differences in assessments of trainee competencies across domains and developmental stages.MethodsTrainees and supervisors (N = 141 dyads) independently rated trainee performance at the end of placements using the Clinical Psychology Competencies Rating Scale. Based on the number of placement hours completed at the time competence was assessed, the 141 trainees were assigned to three developmental levels (61, 42, and 31 in the groups, respectively). Trajectories of 10 different competencies and trainee–supervisor differences for these competencies were examined across three developmental levels.ResultsCompared to their supervisor ratings, trainees underestimated their competence during early stages of training, with this discrepancy reducing at Level 2 and reversing into an overestimation at Level 3. Compared to their own ratings for overall competence, trainees rated Relational and Communication, Reflective Practice, and Professionalism domains as relative strengths, and rated their competence on assessment and intervention domains as relative weaknesses.ConclusionGrowth trajectories derived from supervisor assessments were much flatter than trajectories derived from trainee assessments. As predicted by the impostor theory of practitioner development, trainees significantly underestimated their competence early in training. The trend for trainees to overestimate their competence toward the end of their training is a potential concern that warrants further research.

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An examination of psychological characteristics and their relationship to academic entitlement among millennial and nonmillennial college students

Cited by 17 publications

References 34 publications

Meta-analysis: on average, undergraduate students’ intelligence is merely average

Meta-analysis: on average, undergraduate students’ intelligence is merely average

Meta-analysis: On average, undergraduate students' intelligence is merely average

Supervisor versus self‐assessment of trainee competence: Differences across developmental stages and competency domains

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