Visualizing Social Change with Ryder Plots: The Rise and Fall of Verbal Ability in the United States

Sociologists and demographers often use Lexis diagrams to visualize temporal data. However, the traditional plot arranges data in a matrix of right triangles, with age on vertical axis period horizontal axis. This representation subordinates cohort an off-diagonal unequal length. Not only does this violate proportionality principle effective statistical graphics, but it implicitly treats as residual or epiphenomenal dimension makes difficult compare variation within across cohorts. As alternative, author introduces Ryder plot, novel graphical tool that displays cohort, age, grid equilateral thereby providing unbiased all three dimensions facilitating analysis intra- intercohort variability. The uses plots chart rise fall verbal ability United States, revealing two epochs social change centuries