INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA PNgdWf3
RICHARD LYNN Sv#S_jh
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland q0sdL86
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore m7$t$/g
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of PS:"mP7n
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a V'iT>
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Ea<kc[Q
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation 6B8gMO
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. (JX 9c
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples tDWoQ&z2t_
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the
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United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally qT153dNA&
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of j3t,Cx
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies %M7EOa
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean GS)4,.
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained YP4lizs.
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature XbaUmCuh
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by %96l(JlJ)B
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 *4HogC
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. "h
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids z%lLbKSe
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the ][?@))
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ]@P!Q&V #
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the JmBe1"hs
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Z%4w{T+[
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been K| w\KX0
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 4Pv Pp{Y
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 1`q>*S](
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 3'jH,17lWV
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial /:GeXDJw
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ehTRw8"R
available and are the subject of this report. ]tsp}M@
METHOD bmP2n
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by gt \O
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. &x.n>O
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a l>D!@`><I
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from e8,!x9%J
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given VRQD
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables JIOeDuw+
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile *]K/8MbiF
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the @9AK!I8f
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). Sv>bU4LHf
RESULTS <FofRFa
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for #E
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raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Eb~e=){
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 'UFPQ
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the s2kom)
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the .~AQxsGH
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to NK!#K>AO
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British bAwFC2jO[
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Ha41Wn'tZ
British standardisation sample. k [eWhdSw
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 7=`_UqCV
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ;!:@3c
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means w
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 0
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The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of Nc_Qd4<[@G
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white qBDhCE
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an h8
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American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 BenUyv1d
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean
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obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by i5 ;_
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater ^&!iq K2o
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically V2oXg
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. /r?EY
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DISCUSSION H[J5A2b
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 6` 4,
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States WB|N)3-1
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically ?'/#Gt`
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low =IEei{
living standards in China. `gE_u
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Dd'4W
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by H$)__V5I,q
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Aa!#=V1d
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the #>_5PdO
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half =u<jxV9
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 j21>\K!p
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this L)QAI5
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rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been e13' dCG
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in LB\+*P6QM
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). rp_Aw
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US %pUA$oUt
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 DP6>fzsl
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and &s~b1Va
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back <tI_u ~P
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs shuoEeoo
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living t2_pwd*B
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be QdK
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expected to increase further. kJNu2S