INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA %}SGl${-
RICHARD LYNN ^ssK
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland R?GDJ3
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore `n#H5Oyn
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of :}Xll#.,m
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ;\a
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Gy9$wH@8
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation v0
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. _BM"
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples X\`_3=
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the j>*R]mr6
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed 49rf7NT-g
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally :Ux?,
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of zcel|oz)
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies <>dT64
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of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean V@B__`y7
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained Sc>,lIM
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature
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on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by HKU~UTRnZ
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ?zeJ#i
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. KX76UW
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids %z/hf
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the o>).Cj
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ) brVduB
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the zjJ *n8l
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high RTvqCp
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been Y#!UPhg<
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 6TQoqH8@U
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be *i\Qo
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. I!^;8Pg
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial ?+_Gs;DGVE
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become gw
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available and are the subject of this report. zO~8?jDN4|
METHOD dU6ou'pf
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 8qY79)vD4E
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties.
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 2"0es40;0
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from >z/#_z@LV
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given OglEt[ "
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables Of-Rx/
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile \.C+ue
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the X>d"]GD
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). cQ/5qg
RESULTS =+/eLKG
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for `e(c^ z#
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 9*2[B"5
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is t#Z-mv:(
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the H;?{BV
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the w&$`cD
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to {v=T [D
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British )LdP5z-
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the fRrvNj0{V
British standardisation sample. $&y%=-] |
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH {E
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD )2pbpbWX>
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. NgADKrDU
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means 52SaKA[
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. V[{6e
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of }O/U;4Z
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white a;rdQ>
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 9)y/:sO<P
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 W,4QzcQR
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean W0y '5`
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by yL%K4$z
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater !2 LCLN\
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically QP@%(]f G
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ^M3~^lV
DISCUSSION kjW+QT?T&
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 5\N(PL
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States r#+d&.|
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 3
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significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low NV)!7~r}:
living standards in China. {!.(7wV\
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- R%Qf7Q
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by SHvq.lYJ
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 2>|dF~"
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ZW-yP2
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the VC
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half vGc,vjC3x
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 ?
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this g$7{-OpB
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been }E+!91't.^
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 0)%YNaskj
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Fgk ajig
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US O!zV)^r
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 $$D}I*^Dt
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and bBu,#Mc
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back U1@IX4^2`
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Da&vb
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living -u&6X,Oq\u
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be IC#>X5
expected to increase further. n1qQ+(xC