INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA uomFE(
RICHARD LYNN ,PIdPaV--
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland s$Roe(J
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ?g<*1N?:
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of zBc7bbK
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Y&gfe8%5N
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of g"zk14'
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation P,wFib^1
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. x<= ;=893
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Q~*A`h#
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the iUl{_vb
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed "~FXmKcX
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally MTqbQ69v
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of oWJ}]ip
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies flb3Iih
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean w7%N=hL1
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained gg8T],s1!a
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature .+B!mmp
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by R~c(^.|r
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 3bPVKsY
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. TF3Tha]
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Vy(l
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the s]B^Sz=
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest SSI&WZ2a
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the 2$3BluK
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high -j<UhW
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been e348^S&rG
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn gXf_~zxS
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be [
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. iJ
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial JWxPH5L
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become u1<xt1K
available and are the subject of this report. 4.VEE~sH$
METHOD $p9XXZ"*
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by blp )a
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. _q8s 7H
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 6+LXoR'
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from /M'
b137
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given kfmIhHlYQ
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables [N$@nA-d
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile >EMCG.**
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the ,lN!XP{M6w
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). t?c*(?Xa
RESULTS mexI}
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for :I&iDS>u1
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which V-X n&s
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is v4Nb/Y
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Pu*st=KGB
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the PUlb(3p
`
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to TyK;
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American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British J(l6(+8
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ~I'Z=Wo
British standardisation sample. ;=e A2
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH {0QA+[Yd&!
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD r2xlcSn%
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ,e>ugI_;*
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means )3u[btm
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. c%B=TAs5c
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of gi"v${R
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white "4r
5 n8
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an xr6Q5/p1
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ~ 4&_$e!
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean |-e=P9,
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by heh!cDK
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater +rql7D0st
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically i.fDH57
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 83<kaeu,^
DISCUSSION q].C>R*ux8
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 4&&j7$aV
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States QZwRg&d<o
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically NgH%
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low xw?G?(WO
living standards in China. tKJ)'v?
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ~" $9auQtC
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by |E?%Cj^W
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than -''vxt?7H&
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & bz>#}P=58G
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the )p!dqlK
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half !p9BH6$`
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 7l:H~"9r
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this #}jf TM
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ow`\7qr
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 4Uwt--KtFh
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). :z"Uw*
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US Lnj5EY er
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 50'6l
X(v,
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Ni0lj:
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 5hDE&hp
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs )s^XVs.-
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living p=r{ODw#3
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be >#8`Zy:/Y
expected to increase further. s5z@`M5'm