Raven's is not a pure measure of general intelligence: Implications for g factor theory and the brief measurement of g

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. It has been claimed that Raven's Progressive Matrices is a pure indicator of general intelligence (g). Such a claim implies three observations: (1) Raven's has a remarkably high association with g; (2) Raven's does not share variance with a group-level factor; and (3) Raven's is associated with virtually no test specificity. The existing factor analytic research relevant to Raven's and g is very mixed, likely because of the variety of factor analytic techniques employed, as well as the small sample sizes upon which the analyses have been performed. Consequently, the purpose of this investigation was to estimate the association between Raven's and g, Raven's and a theoretically congruent group-level factor, and Raven's test specificity within the context of a bifactor model. Across several large samples, it was observed that Raven's (1) shared approximately 50% of its variance with g; (2) shared approximately 10% of its variance with a fluid intelligence group-level factor orthogonal to g; and (3) was associated with approximately 25% test specific reliable variance. Overall, the results are interpreted to suggest that Raven's is not a particularly remarkable test with respect to g. Potential implications relevant to the commonly articulated central role of Raven's in g factor theory, as well as the Flynn effect, are discussed. Finally, researchers are discouraged to include only Raven's in an investigation, if a valid estimate of g is sought. Instead, as just one example, a four-subtest combination from the Wechsler scales with a g validity coefficient of .93 and 14. min administration time is suggested.