出刊年月/Date of Publishing

2003.12

所屬卷期/Vol. & No.   第33卷第4期 Vol. 33, No. 4

類型/Type                 研究論文 Research Article

篇名/Title
Has Verbal Ability Declined in America?
語文能力在美國有下降的趨勢嗎？

作者/Author
黃敏雄 Min-Hsiung Huang

頁碼/Pagination
pp. 757-800

摘要
最近一些研究者使用美國社會變遷調查資料 (General Social Survey, 1974-1996)，爭議語文能力是否有隨出生年逐年下降的趨勢。有一些研究者指出，過去所觀察到語文能力隨出生年逐年下降的趨勢是假象，此乃導因於語文能力會隨年齡逐年增加。另有學者認為，年齡對語文能力的影響有限，不足以解釋整個下降趨勢。本文首先釐清過去研究在分析方法上的爭議，進而控制相同教育程度在不同世代所具有的相對位階。結果發現，年齡並不是解釋語文能力下降的主因。語文能力在美國的下降現象始於一九四○年代末期出生的世代，止於一九六○年代早期出生的世代，此趨勢及其變化幅度與一九六○及一九七○年代美國各州所發現的學習測驗分數下降情況相似。

Abstract
Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS), 1974-1996, researchers have debated whether the observed intercohort decline represents an actual intercohort decline in verbal ability in the U.S. population. Some researchers speculate that the observed intercohort decline in verbal ability in GSS data is spurious since previous literature has shown that verbal ability increases over the life span and peaks in old age. Other researchers, however, maintain that aging effects on verbal ability are not large enough to explain the steep decline in verbal ability observed in GSS data. By identifying some of the inadequacies of earlier research and considering a strategy that takes changes in the selectivity of education over time into account, this study attempts to reconcile some of these disparate findings. The findings from this study did not support an age interpretation. Intercohort decline in verbal ability began with persons born in late 1940s and ended with persons born in early 1960s, independent of aging effects on vocabulary acquisition. The intercohort decline in GSS vocabulary test scores resembles the widespread test score decline observed in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s in its onset, end, and magnitude.

關鍵字/Key Word
字彙測驗分數、測驗分數下降情況、語文能力、出生年分析、年齡
vocabulary test scores, test score decline, verbal ability, cohort analysis, aging

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DOI
https://doi.org/10.7015/JEAS.200312.0757

學門分類/Subject
社會學 Sociology