INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 6:zPWJB
RICHARD LYNN fz(YP=@ZnP
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland Y4rxnXGw
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 24 [KGp
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of BU:;;iV8
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a w:5?ofC
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of /eV)5`V
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ON,[!pc
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. !*-|!Vz
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples W/qXQORv
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the MgeC-XQM
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed cnu&!>8V
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally KN}#8.'>3
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of o701RG~)
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies (/A.,8Ad
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean j%6p:wDl
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained MTu\T
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 731Lz*IFg
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by hY`<J]-'`
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 dKzG,/1W[m
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. TTXF
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ZSuo
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the S%iK);
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest NM{)liP
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the OG5{oH#K
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high N3%#JdzZ$
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been J :O!4gI
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn M& Z
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 8,U
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Xdn&%5rI
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial #_DpiiS,.Q
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 8 0tA5AP
available and are the subject of this report.
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METHOD U#z"t&o=L
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by riIubX#
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. $|~<6A{y
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a p*Z<DEh#
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from \D@j`o
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given `NIb?
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in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 0Y8gUpe3P6
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile Z)7{~xq
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the t\M6 d6
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981).
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RESULTS &W45.2
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for NNt n
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which %g9ym@s
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is ~P\4
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possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the w!m4>w
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the |5^
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percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ~su>RolaX
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 1aAOT6h
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Gdo
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British standardisation sample. =t,
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH [+\He/M6
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD W`[VLi}fe
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. eKiDc=@
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means A%^?z.
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ,;pUBrz/[
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of Y/sav;
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white vFUp$[
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an j9fBl:Fr
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 "Hw%@]#
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean p/{%%30ke
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 7nB4(A2[S4
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater tK3$,9+
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically ^T&{ORWz
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. "9;
DISCUSSION \l/(L5gY
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in j,OA>{-$
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States A?MM9Y}K
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically *$A`+D9
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low .\oz
living standards in China. Zz0er|9]Q
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- DGHSyB^+1
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by
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middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than YuhfPa
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & I'5[8
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the TCp9C1Q4
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half Ae2N"%Ej
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 Fl)nmwOc
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this =F\Xt "
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been Bl+\|[yd
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in EID-ROMO
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). -5*OSA:8x
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US y3efie {J
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 1)~|{X+~
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and lV'?X%
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back QBa+xI_
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at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs x// uF
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ?8O5%IrJ
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be WOO3z5 La
expected to increase further. !KI^Z1dP(