INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA gQ=l\/H
RICHARD LYNN WYY&MHp
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ]5sU =\
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore [E6ZmMB&
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of \Ws$@J-M
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a W $E Ao+V
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of :,1kSM%r
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation WNWtQ2]
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. _a-
At
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples >v1ajI>O&{
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the Q/ ^a(
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed B(qwTz 51
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ;`:A(yN]T
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 9KDm<Q-mf
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 7xoq:oP-}N
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean 8s)(e9Sr
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 0S$6j-"
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature xF])NZy|
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by v%!'vhf_K
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 '/
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and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 66Bx,]"6
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids #!R =h|
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the $Eh:m&hq
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 2R>!Wj'G+o
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the ;noZmPa
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high [28Vf"#]
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been f&88N<)
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn zIy&gOX
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ],xvhfZ"dn
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. GRj#1OqL
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial -Ta|
qQa
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become }-2U,Xg[
available and are the subject of this report. @lTd,V5f
METHOD ql(~3/kA_
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by k btQ
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. bm#/ KT_8
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a [6cf$FS9
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from EJaGz\\
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given PIZK*Lop
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables M:d }
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile {RHa1wc
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the #s3R4@{
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). MKZq*
RESULTS gN5;Uk
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for Be~In~~
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which v/~Lf i
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is RAAu3QKu
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the rkWiGiisM
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the #Z1
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percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to k5o{mWI b
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 8 GW0w
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the MoMxKmI
British standardisation sample. pfF2!`7pI
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH hL}AgY@
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD _8&a%?R@W
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. #kRt\Fzq
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means (;cvLop
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 2b^E8+r9
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of zx`(ojfu
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white %WAaoR&u
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an -Gd@baV
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 "s.s(TR8
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean rhj_cw
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by S- JD}+9
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater f2G 3cg~H
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 9/$Cq
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. yLEAbd%+
DISCUSSION Tjj-8cg
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in !]2`dp\!
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 eh}I?:(a?
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low
O2N~&<^
living standards in China.
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ~__rI-/_
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by \<Di|X1
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than T/iZ"\(~w
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & !(#d7R
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the N.dcQQ_iS
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half _<6B.{$\7m
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 "T1A$DKw+R
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this ,^@z;xF
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been zr^"zcfz&
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in
p}(pIoyUF
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). @ w?,7i-S
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US ?eOw8Rom
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 {q.|UCg[
L
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and gaU1A"S}
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back gRg8D{
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 6h{>U*N"&d
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living CC|=$(PgT
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be "`Y.5.
expected to increase further. 8&c:73=?X