Animal research. Some evolutionary psychologists have expressed to us an interest in studying personality and intelligence in the great apes, monkeys, as well as in dogs, cats, and rodents, using well-established procedures of behavioral observation, ratings, and studying kin, in zoo as well as in wild populations. Funding is scarce for such cutting-edge research, which falls beyond the purview of most granting agencies. Yet, discovering how similar the genetic and psychometric structure of individual and group differences in these species are could provide critical insight into the origins of human nature and diversity.

Protein and vitamin supplement research. Some research has demonstrated that food supplements have the potential to enhance cognitive ability. Most non-genetic explanations for IQ deficits in non-developed countries have focused entirely on cultural factors such as prejudice, poor education, and poverty.  The biological, but not genetic contribution to cognitive ability has largely been ignored. However, we do know that minute daily additions of essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and other trace elements can be critical. (Malnutrition in childhood is a different phenomenon.) There may even be group differences in the optimal daily requirements of these substances. Research of this kind carried out in developing countries such as South Africa could pay great dividends.  

Neurosciences. Other IQ researchers have raised the question of which brain regions are most related to cognitive ability. With increasingly powerful state-of-the-art techniques now available, for example, the combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with positron emission tomography (PET), it is possible to watch, in vivo, how and where the brain processes information in real time. Again, while scientists are anxious to conduct this research, granting agencies have tended to shy away for political reasons.

IQ and the emerging global economy. Although dozens of IQ and cognitive ability tests exist, gathering normative (i.e., baseline) data for them is notoriously difficult, in part because of the lack of funds available for this purpose. This is especially true in regard to the peoples of developing nations that lie outside North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. We know of test publishers ready to commit their time and effort if funding for the basic research becomes available.

World Consortium for IQ Researchers. One leading IQ researcher has called for psychology to follow the example of physics and develop globally applicable, culture fair measures of reaction time (which correlate with paper and pencil IQ tests). Because chronometric tests such as reaction time have an absolute zero, they allow precise, equal interval scaling. The proposal called for the standardization of equipment and its distribution to laboratories around the world, to be used in longitudinal studies with behavioral genetic techniques, and the establishment of a central data base on the worldwide web.

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