INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 8m-ryr)
RICHARD LYNN R]L7?=
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland |} .Y&1@U
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 5\qoZs*e
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of `MEH
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a uVIs5IZzIi
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of g+)T\_#u
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation L?0dZY-"
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. nq A>
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples d}IVYI
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the MW`q*J`Y
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United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed <.RgMPi
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally whxE[Xnv
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of Gu&zplB
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies Ugrcy7
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean !3d+"tL
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IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained ;|}6\=(
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature <7u*OYjA
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by pbju;h)O!|
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 /Nb&e
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. m#DC;(Pn
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Wh 8fC(BE
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the HR)joD*q;[
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ]<TgBo|
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the Rs5G5W@"A
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high p Sc<3OI
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been |6
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determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn =yvyd0|35
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be R.+QK6B&
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. }1Q]C"hY
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial eK4\v:oG1
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ;M\H#%G.
available and are the subject of this report. 4,TS1H
METHOD S'2B
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by [o\O^d
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. ~#@sZ0/<
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a @[.%A;E4
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 0xZq?9a
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 3Pkzzyk_|D
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables m9xO& @#vx
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile NDCZc_
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the obS|wTG~
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). >qCUs3}C{*
RESULTS i]xyD '0
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for h6la+l?x
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which #OH# &{H
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is %6dFACv
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the -F@Rpfrj_#
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the QvjsI;CQ-
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to %w_h8
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ^!N _Nx/M
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the [ @&
British standardisation sample. [C/h{WPC-
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH tAc[r)xFw
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD R\1#)3e0
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. |.)dOk,o
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means 9LzQp`In
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. vM|?;QM
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of 7S 1
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white g]z,*d
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an MS><7lk-
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 }.MJVB3
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean [2.pZB
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by rhwY5FD?
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater ]J:?@}\^
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically !<@k\~9^D
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. rp.JYz,
DISCUSSION C6:<.`iD87
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in w\s$
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ;
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and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically
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significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low >\3=h8zw
living standards in China. DX4uTD
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ~vBmW_j
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by cm]8 m_!
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than YD7i6A
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & pH'#v]"
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the gx@b|rj;
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half Y }Rx`%X
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 <~vamim#K
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this Kh'/Ne?
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been .6f
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in B k#68p
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). )m
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In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 3($%A GKJ
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 r9z/hm}E
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and }4 5|
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back |OhNQoTY
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs :C_\
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living )z$VQ=]"
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be C] \r~f
expected to increase further. 1k3wBc5<