The average intelligence of the human race has been steadily increasing , scientists have claimed . In research looking back over IQ tests from the past few decades , they found that the tests were becoming harder - but people were still doing just as well . But the reasons why people are becoming smarter is not known - with theories including better education and improved medical care . Researchers at Kings College London looked at scores over 64 years . In total , more than 200,000 participants in IQ tests were studied . Since 1950 , average intelligence was found to have risen by about 20 IQ points . Explanations include better education ( stock image shown ) and improved medical care . The research , titled A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Raven 's Progressive Matrices and reported by William Kremer for the BBC , was published in the journal intelligence . Carried out by Peera Wongupparaj , Veena Kumari and Robin Morris from Kings College London , they looked specifically at the Raven ’ s Progressive Matrices ( RPM ) . Poverty affects the intelligence of children as young as two , a separate study in December 2014 found - and its impact increases as the child ages . Deprived young children were found to have IQ scores six points lower , on average , than children from wealthier families . And the gap got wider throughout childhood , with the early difference tripling by the time the children reached adolescence . Scientists from Goldsmiths , University of London compared data on almost 15,000 children and their parents as part of the Twins Early Development Study ( Teds ) . The study is an on-going investigation socio-economic and genetic links to intelligence . This tasks participants with looking for patterns in an array of shapes - and is thought to be a good measure of intelligence . In total , more than 200,000 participants from 48 countries over 64 years were studied in the research . Since 1950 , it was found that the average intelligence had risen by the equivalent of 20 IQ points . 'RPM is a valid and reliable measure of general IQ , Dr Wongupparaj told MailOnline . 'Also , it is cultural-free test so that it has been widely used for nearly 80 years . ' ‘ IQ tests are designed to ensure that the average result is always 100 , so this is a significant jump , ’ the BBC reported . The research builds on earlier evidence from philosopher and psychologist James Flynn , from the University of Otaga in New Zealand . He had noticed that IQ tests were getting harder , but people were still getting similar scores on them - which became known as the Flynn Effect . This graph shows how the Raven ’ s Progressive Matrices ( RPM ) scores have been increasing over time . RPM is seen as an accurate way of measuring intelligence , and 'it is cultural-free test so that has been widely used for nearly 80 years , ' Dr Wongupparaj told MailOnline . The research was carried out by scientists from Kings College London . They looked specifically at the Raven ’ s Progressive Matrices ( RPM ) - an example is shown . This tasks participants with looking for patterns in an array of shapes - and is thought to be a good measure of intelligence . Apparently , if modern Americans took a test from a century ago , they would get a relatively high average IQ score of 130 ; vice versa , and our ancestors would score a measly average of 70 . This equates to a three-point rise in IQ per decade . According to the new study , though , outside of the US the biggest change was clearly in developing countries , IQ was ‘ catching up with the developed world ’ . ‘ There are multiple possible reasons proposed for this phenomenon , ’ they write . These include improved education , increased exposure to testing , improved medical care and nutritition and decreased family size . Perhaps most importantly , though , is that the instance of IQ increasing was not just true in general for the world as a whole - but could also be noticed on a much smaller scale . ‘ The Flynn effect is strong enough to be showed in even small and non-representative samples as well as in the very young and older adults , ’ the researchers conclude .
researchers at Kings College London looked at intelligence over 64 years . In total , more than 200,000 participants in IQ trials were studied . Since 1950 , average intelligence was found to increase by about 100 IQ points . Explanations include better intelligence and better medical care .