But who was John C. Raven beyond the test that bears his name? Let’s take a deep dive into his life, his work, and why his legacy still matters today.
1. Early Life: The Underdog Psychologist
John Carlyle Raven wasn’t born into privilege, nor did he glide through school on a wave of academic praise. In fact, his early life was a masterclass in perseverance. Born in London on June 28, 1902, he faced challenges that could’ve easily derailed his ambitions. His father passed away when he was young, leaving his mother and two sisters to navigate life without him. As the only male in the house, John had responsibilities far beyond his years.
If that wasn’t enough, he also had dyslexia—a condition that, at the time, wasn’t well understood. In an era when struggling to read or write was often mistaken for laziness or lack of intelligence, Raven had to fight against a system that didn’t believe in him. Teachers dismissed his potential, assuming he wouldn’t amount to much academically. But Raven wasn’t about to let their limited perspective define his future.
His fascination with psychology kept him going. He saw intelligence as something deeper than just school performance, and he was determined to understand it better. To fund his education, he worked as a teacher at a boarding school for children with physical disabilities—a job that was more than just a paycheck. It gave him firsthand experience with kids whose intelligence wasn’t always reflected in traditional assessments. He saw how cognitive abilities could be underestimated or misunderstood simply because standard tests didn’t account for diverse experiences. That realization would later shape his approach to intelligence testing.
Determined to push forward, Raven earned his degrees from the University of London, studying at King’s College under Francis Aveling. But while Aveling was technically his supervisor, Raven wasn’t exactly getting hands-on mentorship from him. Instead, he gravitated toward Charles Spearman—the psychologist best known for developing the concept of “g” (general intelligence)—who would have a much bigger impact on his thinking.
Even in his early years, Raven was already questioning the status quo. He didn’t just want to study intelligence—he wanted to redefine how we measured it. And as history would show, he did exactly that.
2. The Birth of Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Sometimes, innovation comes from frustration, and that’s exactly what happened to John C. Raven. While working with Lionel Penrose, a geneticist studying the role of heredity and environment in intellectual disabilities, Raven kept running into the same issue: intelligence tests were a mess.
At the time, assessments like the Stanford–Binet were the gold standard, but they had serious flaws. They were too long, too language-heavy, and too confusing to interpret because they measured multiple abilities at once. Imagine trying to assess intelligence in a room full of kids while their parents hovered over them, trying to help, or in a noisy workplace with a dozen distractions. It just wasn’t practical.
Raven saw the problem and decided to fix it.
What if there was a test that was:
✅ Quick and easy to administer?
✅ Fair across different languages and cultures?
✅ Focused on a single aspect of intelligence, rather than a jumbled mix?
That’s how Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) was born in 1938.
Instead of words, RPM used abstract geometric patterns. Test-takers had to find the missing piece in a series of increasingly complex puzzles. No language barriers, no cultural bias—just pure reasoning ability. It measured what Spearman called “eductive ability”—essentially, the skill of making sense of new information and solving problems.
And the world ate it up.
RPM became the ultimate universal intelligence test—used in schools, workplaces, and even the military, where quick and unbiased assessments were crucial. What started as Raven’s personal frustration with traditional testing turned into one of the most widely used cognitive assessments in history.
3. Why the Military Loved RPM
When World War II hit, the military had a massive problem: they needed to assess the intelligence of thousands of recruits, fast. But there was a catch—many of these soldiers were illiterate or spoke different languages, making traditional IQ tests useless. The military wasn’t just looking for educated men; they needed quick thinkers, problem-solvers, and people who could adapt under pressure.
Enter Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM).
A special 20-minute version of the test was developed specifically for military use, allowing commanders to identify soldiers with strong reasoning skills—regardless of their background or education. Since RPM didn’t require reading or cultural knowledge, it was a game-changer. It could be used anywhere—from the British army to the South African mines, where language barriers were a major challenge.
This wartime boost cemented RPM’s reputation. It wasn’t just an intelligence test anymore—it was a practical, scalable tool for identifying raw cognitive ability fairly and efficiently. The military’s reliance on it only proved what Raven already knew: intelligence isn’t about memorizing facts—it’s about how well you think.
4. Beyond the Test: Raven’s Theories and Contributions
Sure, Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) put his name on the map, but John C. Raven wasn’t just the guy who made a cool test—he was obsessed with understanding intelligence itself. What did it really mean to be “smart”? Was intelligence just about remembering facts, or was it something deeper? These were the questions that kept him up at night.
Here’s where his thinking went beyond the test:
4.1 🔹 Eductive vs. Reproductive Ability
Most traditional IQ tests at the time focused on reproductive ability—basically, how well someone could memorize and recall information. But Raven wasn’t buying it. He believed true intelligence wasn’t about regurgitating facts but about making sense of new information—what he called eductive ability.
RPM was specifically designed to measure this. Instead of testing how much someone had learned in school, it assessed their ability to spot patterns, solve novel problems, and think critically—all crucial skills in the real world.
4.2 🔹 The Principles of Individuation and Coordinates of Conduct
Raven also wanted to understand why people think and behave so differently. He developed a framework for looking at how intelligence, motivation, and personality interact. He argued that intelligence isn’t just about cold logic—it’s deeply tied to emotions, unconscious processes, and personal goals.
Today, neuroscience backs him up. Modern research shows that factors like emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, and self-awareness play huge roles in cognitive performance and decision-making. In a way, Raven was ahead of his time.
4.3 🔹 Psychological Testing and Fairness
Unlike many psychologists of his era, Raven actually cared about fairness in testing. He knew that a good intelligence test needed to work for everyone, not just those from privileged backgrounds. That’s why he designed RPM to be language-independent and culturally neutral—so it could measure intelligence without bias.
His emphasis on fairness set a precedent for modern psychological testing, where researchers continue to refine tests to ensure they don’t unintentionally favor certain groups.
Raven wasn’t just creating another IQ test—he was challenging the entire way intelligence was measured and understood. His work wasn’t about ranking people; it was about truly grasping how the human mind works.
5. The Flynn Effect: A Surprise Twist in Raven’s Legacy
Imagine spending your life designing one of the most widely used intelligence tests, only for it to reveal something totally unexpected decades later. That’s exactly what happened with Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) when psychologist James Flynn noticed a bizarre trend: average IQ scores were rising—fast.
This phenomenon, now called the Flynn Effect, showed that people were getting better at abstract reasoning over generations. Basically, if you took an RPM test in the 1940s and then took the same test decades later, you’d likely score higher. The effect was seen across multiple countries, which meant it wasn’t just a random fluke.
So, what’s going on? No one knows for sure, but theories include:
📚 Better education—People today are exposed to more problem-solving and abstract thinking early on.
📺 More exposure to technology & media—Video games, puzzles, and digital interfaces could be sharpening visual and spatial reasoning.
🌍 Environmental improvements—Health, nutrition, and cognitive stimulation may all play a role.
And here’s the kicker—Raven’s test played a massive role in identifying this trend. Because RPM had been used globally for decades, researchers had access to tons of historical data to track intelligence changes over time.
The Reverse Flynn Effect: Are IQ Scores Dropping Now?
But here’s where the story takes a twist. Recent studies suggest that the Flynn Effect may be slowing—or even reversing—in some places. Countries like Norway, Denmark, and the UK have reported declining IQ scores in recent years, especially in younger generations.
Why? Just like with the original Flynn Effect, no one has a clear answer, but possible explanations include:
📉 Changes in education styles—Less focus on problem-solving and critical thinking?
📱 Increased screen time—More passive consumption, less deep thinking?
😴 Lifestyle shifts—Less sleep, less reading, more digital distractions?
So, what does this mean for Raven’s legacy? Well, his test didn’t just measure intelligence—it helped reveal how intelligence evolves over time. Whether scores rise or fall, RPM has been at the center of one of the biggest debates in psychology: Is intelligence changing, and if so, why?
6. Raven’s Final Years and Legacy
By 1944, after years of groundbreaking research, John C. Raven could have easily settled into a comfortable academic post, but that just wasn’t his style. Instead, he took on a part-time role as Director of Psychological Research at Crichton Royal Hospital in Scotland—a move that wasn’t just about flexibility. He wanted full control over his research without having to jump through institutional hoops.
Unlike many psychologists of his time, Raven wasn’t into therapy. He wasn’t interested in diagnosing or “fixing” people. He believed psychology wasn’t about telling people how to live—it was about helping them understand themselves. His focus was always on self-discovery, individual potential, and figuring out what truly drives human behavior.
In 1964, he officially retired, but his influence didn’t fade. When he passed away in 1970 at age 68, his work lived on—especially through his son, John Raven Jr., who continued refining RPM and pushing intelligence research forward.
Even today, Raven’s impact is everywhere. Whether it’s in education, psychological research, or cognitive testing, his ideas about intelligence, fairness, and problem-solving continue to shape how we measure and understand human potential.
7. Why John C. Raven Still Matters
John C. Raven might not be a household name, but his work has left an undeniable mark on psychology. His contributions to intelligence testing, fairness in assessment, and understanding cognitive ability continue to shape research today.
His biggest impact?
✔ Making intelligence testing more accessible
✔ Challenging the idea that intelligence is just about memorization
✔ Influencing decades of research on cognition, heritability, and environmental effects on intelligence
Whether you’re taking an IQ test online or reading about intelligence research, you’re engaging with ideas that trace back to Raven. His life’s work was about making intelligence testing smarter, fairer, and more meaningful—and that’s something worth celebrating.
